


She’s Not Afraid

by southernsraiders



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26010919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/southernsraiders/pseuds/southernsraiders
Summary: Sokka and Katara set out to work at the same summer camp they’ve gone to since they where kids. Having recently broken with his former ‘girl back home’, Sokka’s hoping for some crazy summer camp romance, specifically with his co counselor that he’s secretly had eyes for since they were just campers. After spending all of last summer hearing Sokka talk about his girlfriend, Suki has basically given up on her feelings for him. she doesn’t want another summer of pining for the guy she can’t have, so she vows that this summer is going to be her summer to have fun, go crazy and not tie herself to one guy. But will she be able to ignore the feelings she’s had for so long, especially when it finally seems like he returns them?
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar)
Comments: 61
Kudos: 87





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This au is loosely based off of the song She’s Not Afraid by One Direction, hence the title! The lyrics mostly align with the characterization of Suki as if the song was from Sokka’s point of view. If you haven’t listened to the song, I definitely recommend it! It’s one of my favs. Enjoy!

Two weeks before camp begins

Sokka was laying on his bed, as he almost always did after a long day of school. Normally he’d be procrastinating homework, but today had been his last day, so all he was procrastinating was getting ready for the summer kickoff party he and his sister had been invited to. Katara had practically been getting ready all afternoon, but he couldn’t fault her. It was somewhat of a tradition for the new juniors and seniors to have a huge summer kickoff party, and having just officially become a junior it would be Katara’s first year attending, and she wanted to impress.

Speaking of tradition, he had another one to fulfill. Every year on his last day of school he texted or called his best camp friend, Suki, to get her excited for camp. They started it when they where cit’s together the summer before freshman year, and it just kind of stuck. He picked up his phone and sent her a quick message. He wanted to call this year, but his sister was going to kill him if he didn’t get ready soon. Setting his phone down, he looked around the room. His eyes caught the photo wall Katara put up for him as a birthday present. He glanced at his favorite photo, which of course was a picture of him and Suki, and smiled as he remembered the night it was taken.

It was their second summer as counselors, and the camp director had given all of them a night off. They decided to head into the small town not far from the camp and grab a late night dinner at the local diner. Being a group of teenagers, it was not long after they finished eating when people started taking photos. It was probably the most fun the counselors had all summer- at least with people their own age- and none of them wanted to forget it. Katara and Suki were quickly drawn into the center of the crowd, taking photos with the other girls, then with some of the guys. Suki stopped to take a break from photos, reclaiming her seat next to him when Katara came over with her camera and gushed about how cute they looked together and how they had to get a photo. Sokka remembered blushing profusely, but Suki just smiled. “One picture with me won’t kill you dork.” She had said, poking him in the ribs. He’s sighed, and threw his arm around her as she moved close him, resting her head on his shoulder and laughing.

Looking at the photo, Sokka vowed that this summer would be different. He’d had feelings for Suki for years, and finally he was going to act on them. Every other summer, he’d failed to act on his feelings, especially last summer, but this summer was going to be different

And for different reasons than he would imagine, it would be.

***

Suki was laying in her bed when she got a text. ‘Two weeks, I can’t wait to see you!’ It read. It was from her best camp friend, Sokka. She smiled and texted him back, before setting her phone down and glancing around her room. Her eyes caught sight of her photos, hanging proudly on her wall. A swarm of butterflies was unleashed in her stomach as she saw the one of her and Sokka from last summer. A lump caught in her throat. Sokka and last summer weren’t two things she liked to remember together. Suki had had a crush on Sokka for as long as she could remember, and last summer was going to be her year to tell him, but she was too late. He’d fallen for a girl back home, and they had started dating but three weeks before camp. 

She remembered the night he told her like it was yesterday. It was the first night of camp, and they had been hanging out with the other counselors after hours, and she and Sokka went off on their own as they often did. They sat at the end of the dock, swishing their feet in the water and looking up at the moon, talking about the past year. “So, did you finally get a girlfriend?” She jokingly asked him, and to her dismay the answer was yes. He told her all about his girl back home, and she listened quietly, as one’s best friend should. Secretly, she felt her heart ache as she heard him talk about this girl the way she wanted him to talk about her. She remembered going back to her cabin with her cit on the verge of tears, and spending the rest of the summer secretly pining for the guy she’d liked for so long but couldn’t have.

Looking at the photo, Suki vowed this summer would be different. She wouldn’t let herself be the mopey unrequited latter day Juliet she acted like in secret last year. She was going to have fun, go crazy, and not tie herself down. It was better that way. She couldn’t bring herself to take the picture down, because even she couldn’t deny that Sokka would always have her heart. But this summer was going to be different.

And in more ways than she would imagine, it would be.


	2. Move In Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad you guys are enjoying so far! I didn’t make this clear in my previous note but this au is Sukka based with background Zutara. Thanks for the support!

“We’re here!” Katara squealed as their family car pulled up the camp driveway. It was finally move in day, or at least for the counselors and counselors in training. The first session campers would arrive tomorrow morning and stay for four weeks, while the counselors stayed all summer, working both sessions. Although he would miss home, Sokka was secretly excited to be here all summer, because for the foreseeable future distance didn’t separate him and Suki. He could finally spend time with her, and it wouldn’t be on a FaceTime call or texting each other when they should’ve been paying attention in class, and he couldn’t wait.

After saying goodbye to their parents, Katara and Sokka grabbed their things, and headed to the main lodge to check in. They greeted the head of camp, got their assignments from the adult instructors, and parted ways to their cabins. Reading over the papers in his folder, Sokka learned that he was in charge of cabin b2, and his cabin was on the blue team for the color war this year. He smiled to himself, already imagining going into town with his cit and the other blue cabins and buying face paint and bandanas to get ready for the best night of the summer. He arrived at his cabin, found the counselor bunk right up front and started to unpack. His cit wouldn’t arrive for another couple hours, so he took his time unpacking.

***

“Suki!” A familiar voice called out. Suki looked up from the ‘welcome campers!’ sign she was hanging on her cabin door. She was in charge of cabin g2 this year, and wanted to make things special for her girls. Her eyes finally caught the owner of the voice.

“Zuko!” She replied, stepping down from the porch and embracing her friend. She missed camp more than she thought. As they pulled apart and started chatting, she saw another familiar face, this time poking out of the cabin next door. It was Katara, Suki’s closest female camp friend, and Sokka’s little sister.

“Suki!” Katara called, practically jumping off of her porch to greet them. Suki pulled Katara in for a big hug. In a lot of ways, Katara was like a little sister to her too, since she was so close to Sokka. “Hey Zuko.” Katara said softly once Suki pulled away.

“Oh get over here Katara!” He joked, pulling her into his embrace. The pair had become surprisingly close friends last summer, but based on the way he held her, Suki could tell they wouldn’t stay just friends for a while. She smiled to herself. Katara would have the romance for them this summer, she could feel it. She turned away from her friends, looking around the cabin area for the rest of the counselors. If Katara was here, that meant Sokka was here, and despite her secret heartbreak, she couldn’t deny that she was excited to see him. She had no idea what cabin he was staying in, and Katara and Zuko had already started towards the main lodge for the counselors meeting so she couldn’t ask them. She watched them walk away together, so close their shoulders so close they where practically touching. Katara shoved him jokingly and laughed at something he said, and Zuko looked down at her like they where to only people on the whole campground.

Suki sighed. She was happy for her friends of course, but deep down she couldn’t help but envy them. First day of camp and they’d already hit it off. She glanced around once more, and not seeing Sokka she turned and headed to the lodge.

***

Sokka had finished unpacking, and caught up with some friends from last year. They stood near the steps to the main lodge, waiting just a few minutes before heading into the meeting. He glanced around, looking through the groups of counselors approaching the lodge. He saw his sister approaching side by side with Zuko, and he noted the underlying flirtation between them. ‘When did that happen?’ He wondered to himself. He shrugged it off, and not seeing Suki he turned back to the conversation at hand. 

“Sokka!” A voice called just moments later. He whipped his head around, searching for the all to familiar voice. It was Suki. Sure enough, there she was, standing about ten feet away with a wide smile and a slight glint in her eyes. Sokka couldn’t help himself but look her up and down once. In the soft morning sun, she was even more beautiful then he remembered. His smile matched hers, but before he could respond to her call, she threw herself into his arms. He picked her up off the ground just slightly and closed his eyes as they held each other. Summer had officially begun.

“Hey.” He said breathlessly, setting her down. He left his hands around her waist, not wanting to let go. 

“I missed you so much.” She said, slightly flustered.

“I missed you more.” He replied, smiling. The summer was already off to a perfect start, and they’d only been here for a few hours.

***

Ok so maybe Suki had let herself get a little too excited to see Sokka, but she couldn’t help it. He was still her best friend, even if he’d unknowingly broken her heart last summer. She glanced over at him as they sat next to each other in the counselors’ meeting, and felt her heart speed up. She didn’t know when, but some time over the past year he’d gotten even cuter. He was tan from spending all spring outside playing baseball, and it looked like he’d been working out more. She hadn’t noticed until he’d picked her up, but he’d gotten taller too- last summer he was only about three inches taller than her, but this year her head only reached his shoulders. Feelings aside, she couldn’t deny that Sokka wasn’t the dorky 12 year old she met all of those years ago anymore.

Suddenly, she wondered how things were going with him and Yue. She assumed based on the way he talked about her last summer that they were still together, and what a lucky girl she was. Suki stopped herself before she could go any further. She wasn’t going to be jealous of a girl she’d never met, and she wasn’t letting herself go there with Sokka anymore, she had to let him go.

Glancing at him once more, she realized it might be harder than she thought.

***

After a long day of unpacking and prepping for the campers, Sokka was excited to get some time off and hang out with the counselors alone. Word had already gotten around of their ‘after hours’ bonfire for the night, and he was excited to show his cit the ropes. His cit, Aang, was a sweet kid, but it was his first year at the camp. He’d already caught Aang staring at his sister a few times, but based on the amount of time she was spending with Zuko, Sokka hoped Aang wasn’t getting his hopes up. 

“You ready to go?” He asked Aang, walking over to the cit bunk.

“Yep!” He said cheerfully. A silence fell over the pair as they walked out the door, down the porch, and started to the fire pit down by the lake that the counselors deemed as their spot. Sokka couldn’t help but notice that his cit looked nervous as they made their way to meet the other counselors.

“You ok bud?” He asked finally. Aang sighed.

“Are we going to get in trouble?” He asked. Sokka held in a laugh. Classic first year cit. Everyone knew the counselors didn’t obey curfew, but that’s because they didn’t have to. It was tradition at this point.

“We’ll be fine. No one will make you do anything you don’t want to, and if you want to go back to the cabin you don’t have to stay.” Sokka reassured him. Aang nodded, reassured.

“Hey Sokka!” His friend Zuko called as they approached the fire. Everyone sat on the benches surrounding the fire, chatting. Sokka took a seat across from Zuko, who was sitting next to his sister. He surveyed the group, taking in who showed up that night. Katara and Zuko sat next to each other, and their cit’s Toph and Jet sat on the other side of Katara. The other counselors and cit’s sat scattered on the other benches, but Suki was no where to be found. Sokka concealed his disappointment as he took a seat across from Zuko and Katara. He chatted along with the other counselors for a bit, wondering where Suki was. She was somewhat the life of the party, so it was unlike her to be a no show, especially on one of the few nights all summer with no campers.

It turns out she was just running a few minutes late, because not long after he sat down did she appear with her cit, Ty Lee, in tow. Everyone greeted her as she took a seat next to him, Ty Lee sitting next to Aang, and he felt his heart rate increase.

After a while, the conversation died down, and people started to head back to their cabins. Almost all of the cit’s checked out an hour previously, so it was just the older kids of a bit. Katara joked about being too tired to walk, and almost instinctively Zuko swept her off her feet. She pretended to fight him on it, but he wouldn’t give in. Sokka rolled his eyes, they’d be walking around holding hands by tomorrow at this rate. He was happy for Zuko though, he knew that he’d liked her since they became close last summer, and it looked like it was panning out. Sokka hoped he’d have the same luck.

“Wanna go on a walk before bed?” Suki asked, nudging his shoulder and pulling his attention away from Zuko and his sister.

“Sure!” He said, more enthusiastically than he meant. She laughed as they stood up. They started wandering towards the beach, mostly in silence as they walked. At some point, they just kind of stopped, silently standing on the shoreline and looking up at the stars. They started talking about the previous year, and Suki asked the question he’d somewhat dreaded. She was asking about Yue.

“We broke up about three months ago.” He said simply. He looked up at her, and he couldn’t read her expression. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you dork!” She said, pushing his shoulder playfully. He stumbled back, surprised. He didn’t know how he thought she’d take this, but he wasn’t sure it would be like this.

“Sorry.” He said lamely, regathering his composure. “We ended on good terms, it just was over.” He said calmly. ‘Over, because I realized I like you.’ He added in his head. He didn’t dare say that last part out loud. “So how about you?” He asked.

“I had a boyfriend for a while-“ She started. Sokka remembered her mentioning it once or twice, but he was so busy with Yue he hadn’t really noticed. “-but it didn’t really work out. So now I’m just here to have fun. Guys come and go, so this summer I’m coming and going with them.” She said confidently. Sokka’s heart dropped. Somehow, somewhere, he’d miscalculated. He thought he’d have some epic summer romance with the girl of his dreams, but here she stood, telling him about the wild, unpinned summer she’d been planning. 

But Sokka wasn’t giving up on her. Not yet.


	3. Soccer Games & Late Night Swims

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your comments! This is my first fic in years and your support means the world to me <33

“Ok everyone! Line up by the door when you’re finished unpacking!” Sokka called out in his loud cabin. It was the first day of camp, and his boys were already bursting with excitement. It was time for their first big camp tradition, their kickoff game with their sister cabin. At camp every cabin was labeled with ‘b’ or ‘g’ for boys or girls, and a number, and they called the cabins with the same number brother and sister cabins. The first activity of the year was a game against the opposite cabin, and Sokka was especially excited this year because Suki was in charge of his sister cabin. He knew they would be busy competing and running the game, but any excuse to see her was a good one.

He’d been thinking about what she’d said last night, about how she wasn’t looking for something romantic that summer. It caught him off guard- and not just because he was disappointed- but because that wasn’t like her. Sokka knew her better than anyone, and he knew Suki had always been the hopeless romantic type, but something had clearly changed for her. The boyfriend she mentioned hadn’t been a heartbreaking experience, she’d told him herself, so somewhere along the line someone must’ve hurt her, and he was determined to find who.

He and Aang gathered their campers and took them down to the field where Suki’s cabin was already waiting for them. They where sitting in a circle, stretching and talking, and Sokka instructed his cabin to do the same, placing Aang in charge of the kids as he walked towards the center of the field.

“There you are!” Suki said brightly. “Ty Lee and I were beginning to worry you chickened out.” She teased, handing him a whistle. As the counselors, they would be in charge of managing the game from the field, and their cit’s would call the shots for their teams from the bench.

“Us? No shows? You wish.” He replied, taking it from her and throwing it around his neck. She giggled and walked back towards her team, not throwing him a second glance. Sokka blushed like crazy as he walked towards his team, and started prepping them for game.

***

Of course Sokka had to be in charge of her brother cabin. There really was no escaping him, was there? She sighed to herself and Ty Lee started organizing the girls for the game. This year they chose soccer, and a few of their girls played back home, so she was fairly confident in her cabin’s abilities to beat Sokka’s.

Speaking of Sokka, she couldn’t get last night off of her mind. The way he told her about Yue didn’t match the way he talked about her the previous summer, and it hurt a little bit that he hadn’t told her sooner. It just wasn’t like him to be so nonchalant about a girl he’d seemed so in love with. Suki knew Sokka better than anyone, except maybe Katara, and she could tell something was different about him this year, and she was determined to figure out what.

In the end she right, her girls absolutely dominated. At the end of the game, the score was 5-0. She ran around congratulating her girls with high fives as Sokka pulled his group into a huddle. He didn’t seem to mind losing too much, but a couple of his campers weren’t pleased. She walked over to the opposing team to finish up the game with the obligatory handshake between referees, but Sokka forwent the tradition and pulled her into a big hug. She blushed, startled, and heard his campers call out various versions of ‘ew’ and ‘gross’, while hers gasped and gushed.

“Good game.” He said, smiling as they pulled apart. She slapped his shoulder playfully.

“Excuse me sir, but that was supposed to be a handshake.” She teased. Sokka winked and she rolled her eyes. He couldn’t take anything seriously. 

“Who’s ready for lunch?” Sokka called to his campers, and they cheered. Both of them gathered their campers, and started for the dining hall.

***

“You really had to let your girlfriend’s team win today, didn’t you?” One of Sokka’s campers teased at dinner that night.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Sokka replied quickly as his face flushed. His campers had been teasing him non stop about the game from that morning. “And you guys were the ones playing!” He continued. The campers shrugged and went back to their meals. Sure, Sokka has been flirting with Suki after the game, but who could blame him? And it’s not like it was Suki’s fault the boys lost, they were just bitter middle schoolers.

After dinner, the whole camp gathered for the opening night bonfire. The first night was always special, because the whole camp gathered to do cheers, songs and of course make s’mores. Plus, a late night boat ride awaited the counselors after the ceremony, which Sokka was equally as excited for. It was one of his favorite nights of camp, and it was a beautiful night to have it. They started with some classic camp songs, then it was time to announce the winners of the brother-sister cabin games today. Sokka cheered extra loud when they announced that g2 beat b2, and his cabin gave in and cheered along. Suki and her girls smiled at and thanked them, before taking a seat for the rest of the announcements.

The rest of the bonfire passed like a blur of camp spirit and marshmallows, and before he knew it, Sokka and Aang were tucking his campers in bed. Once they were finally settled, it didn’t take long for them to fall asleep, so he and Aang started getting ready for the aforementioned boat ride. Sokka pulled off his shirt, slipped on his swimsuit, flip flops and pulled his hair out of the small bun he tended to put it up in during the day, and waited by the door. Aang approached a few moments later, and he looked slightly less nervous than the previous night. 

“Ready?” Sokka asked him, already reaching for the knob. He was excited to hang out with the other counselors, especially Suki. Aang nodded and they headed out the door and down to the lake.

***

Suki was already waiting with her cit Ty Lee as well as Katara, Zuko, and a bunch of the other counselors down by the lake when Sokka and Aang made their way to the shore. Suki caught sight of Sokka and couldn’t help but stare. Why did the universe have to make the guy she was trying to let go look so good? She felt someone poke her back.

“Hey Suki, you might want to close your mouth before a bug flies in.” Zuko teased. Suki blushed and turned her head to look at him. Katara was standing on the other side of him, and they both laughed at her. She rolled her eyes. She hadn’t fully been gaping, but Zuko had a point.

“Hey guys!” Sokka’s cit, Aang, said, approaching them. 

“Hi Aang.” Katara greeted warmly. Zuko did the same, and they started chatting before one of the older counselors instructed everyone to get on the boat. Suki made her way on, and took a spot next to a counselor she’d never seen before. He was cute, and looked to be about her age, so after a few minutes they started chatting.

A short boat ride later, the secured the anchor near the floating dock, and everyone rose from their seats, and the girls all started taking off the shorts they’d all thrown over bathing suits. Everyone kicked their shoes off, set some towels out and gathered near the edge of the boat that was cleared for jumping off. Everyone talked nervously for a second, not wanting to be the first to jump. The boat was fairly tall, and while it was plenty safe to jump off of, that didn’t mean they were eager to.

“Watch out!” Suki heard Katara yell, and everyone stepped away. She took a running start and gracefully dove off the boat and into the water below. The other counselors clapped and cheered as she popped her head above the water, laughing. Zuko looked at her in awe.

“Nice one Katara!” Aang called. She smiled up at him as she began to tread water. Katara always loved swimming, and water in general, so it was no surprise to Suki that she quite literally dove right in.

“Hey Suki!” Katara called. Suki looked down at her friend. “Mind pushing Zuko in for me?” She joked. Zuko looked back at Suki, then at Katara, then once more at Suki. She held in a laugh at his panicked expression.

“Oh hell no!” He said, jumping off the boat himself before Suki could get to him. Everyone laughed as he hit the water with a large splash, and swam right over to Katara. The swan around each other, and the other counselors went back to their conversations. Suki was right near the edge at this point, with her back to the water, talking to the boy she’d met on the way over here. She was so engrossed in the conversation, she didn’t notice Sokka sneak up behind her, wrap his arms around her waist and pick her up, moving towards the edge.

“What are you doing?” She shrieked, but it was too late. He’d thrown her off the edge and into the icy cold water, and jumped in right behind her. She pushed herself up to the air, and couldn’t help but laugh. Only Sokka would prank her like that, probably revenge for her cabin beating hers earlier.

“What the hell was that for?!?!” She asked once she saw him surface a few feet away.

“You looked like you needed some encouragement.” He said playfully. Everyone was watching them at this point, curious to see what happened next. Maybe it was because everyone’s eyes on her of what it was like at parties back home, but suddenly she felt bold.

“Needing some encouragement, huh?” She said slyly. She’d swam over to him, and at this point she was right in front of him. High on a wave of adrenaline, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and drew herself close to him. She’d dreamed about something like this for years, so she took a moment just for herself. Sokka looked like he might faint right then and there, and she smirked. Even Zuko and Katara had stopped paying attention to each other for a second to see where this was going. In a flourish, Suki pulled her hands away and shoved him underwater. Everyone from the boat laughed as she swam away, and she looked back at his surprised expression and smiled.

She had him now.


	4. Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating yesterday, this chapter took much longer than I expected! I should’ve mentioned this sooner, but if you want updates on the writing process of this story you can follow me on twitter, @/sithskatara. Enjoy!

It had been a few days since the boat ride, and Sokka couldn’t get it off of his mind. Specifically, he couldn’t get her off of his mind. Nothing had even happened that night, but sitting there in the lake, their faces just inches apart, he’d felt an undeniable spark. He’d never felt that way about anyone before, and he secretly hoped that she felt the same.

He hadn’t had much time to see Suki the last few days, and it upset him more than he thought. They were both busy with their activities, and their schedules didn’t line up for a while, so if they saw each other at all it was in passing glances. She seemed wildly far away, even though she was right there, and it tore at his heart a little. Even at night when it was just the counselors, they hadn’t hung out or spoken much in the past few days, and he was beginning to worry that she was avoiding him. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who noticed, because during arts and crafts with Zuko’s cabin one day, his friend pulled him aside.

“You ok?” Zuko asked, sincerely. Sokka sighed, not sure what to say. “You’ve seemed... upset these past few days.” Zuko continued. “And I couldn’t help but notice you haven’t been running around with Suki.” He teased.

“To be honest, I’m not sure what’s going on.” He said, opening up. “Everything was going so well, especially that night on the boat-“ His cheeks flushed. “But then she disappeared. I hope I didn’t do anything to scare her off, because it would kill me to know I hurt her.” He said, looking down at the table. “I’m sure I’m just being dramatic and she’s just busy, but I can’t shake the feeling that I missed something between us, and it’s miserable.” 

“You’ve got to talk to her dude.” Zuko said, resting a hand on Sokka’s shoulder. “I can tell you care a lot about her, so it’s time to toughen up and tell her. Don’t let this one pass you by Sokka.” Sokka looked up at him. His friend had a point, he wasn’t letting Suki slip away. He had to find her that night and tell her everything.

***

It had been a few days since that night on the boat, and Suki couldn’t get it off of her mind. She felt guilty messing around with Sokka like that, but it was just so tempting. She’d been sort of avoiding him for the past few days, and she could tell he’d noticed. She felt bad of course, since they were still best friends and all, but it was for her own good, or at least that’s how she reasoned it in her head. She didn’t have time to think about Sokka, especially not today, for the plain reason that she had a date tonight.

Well, it wasn’t a formal date, but the boy from the boat- who she’d come to learn was Tomi, a graduated senior who was in charge of cabin b7- had asked her to hang out after hours, just the two of them, and she’d said yes. Her plan was already working, and she was stoked. Her heart wasn’t fully into the night ahead, but it would be a much needed distraction.

Her date was still a few hours away, so for now she sat with Katara and one of the other counselors, Mai, on the beach during their cabins’ free swim time. The three of them had been chatting, mostly about boys, and she’d learned that Mai had a boy back home, and if it wasn’t obvious enough already, Katara was fully involved with Zuko. When it came time for them to ask about her, she told them about Tomi, and she noticed Mai shoot Katara a confused glance.

“What?” She asked, noting Mai’s confusion.

“I thought you and Sokka were dating.” Mai said bluntly. That was Mai for you, always to the point. “In fact, I think that’s what most people think. You guys just seemed so coupley I automatically assumed you were dating before summer even began.” Suki’s face fell.

“It’s... complicated.” She said, unsure of herself. Mai tilted her head slightly in confusion, but didn’t ask any more questions. She could tell it was a sensitive subject and didn’t press on, instead her and Katara started talking about something else, but Suki had stopped listening, lost in her thoughts. It truly was complicated, wasn’t it? Somewhere along the line, Sokka had become her safe space, but also a source of fear as well. It’s like she wanted him, but was too afraid to have him. She didn’t want to lose him, but she couldn’t let herself get to close.

She was building walls around herself, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to tear them back down.

***

The rest of the night was calm, and the counselors were fairly tired that night, so they decided to put a movie on in the lodge and just kind of hang out. Sokka sat with Aang and Ty Lee on one of the couches, across from Zuko, Katara and Aang. They played a game of uno, talking and laughing as they went. Sokka couldn’t help but notice that Suki wasn’t around, and it was distracting him from the game. As they wrapped up the round, Sokka couldn’t help but cave in on his curiosity.

“Ty Lee, is Suki around?” He asked calmly. She shrugged.

“She left before I did, I thought she was coming here.” Ty Lee replied honestly. Sokka turned towards Zuko, Katara and Mai and noticed Katara and Mai look at each other with panic in their eyes. He raised an eyebrow at them and cleared his throat.

“Mai, Katara, do you know anything about Suki’s whereabouts?” He questioned.

“She mentioned she was busy tonight, but with what I don’t know.” Mai answered quickly. Katara bit her lip. They were lying, but why? He sighed and thanked them, before dropping his cards and standing up to leave. His plan was still on, he had to find her.

It didn’t take him long, because she was in the first place he looked, and she wasn’t alone. She sat side by side with the same counselor he’d seen her talking with on the boat that first night on the beach. They were laughing at something, and he kept looking over at her with an infuriatingly soft expression in his eyes. Sokka’s heart dropped and he felt sick to his stomach. That’s why Katara and Mai had been lying, they knew that it would crush him, and it did.

As quickly as he came, he left. He didn’t rejoin his friends in the lodge quite yet, instead he paused and sat on the lodge steps, and looked up at the stars. He heard a door shut, and someone walk out of the lodge and take a seat next to him.

“Hey.” It was Zuko. “Katara and Mai told me everything. I’m so sorry Sokka.” He said plainly. “I guess I shouldn’t have told you to talk to her.” Sokka laughed halfheartedly.

“This isn’t your fault Zuko.” He replied, smiling weakly at his friend. “And she warned me about this, she said doesn’t want to settle down this summer, so i should’ve been prepared.” He said sheepishly. “I guess it still hurts though.” He heard someone else walk outside, and looked up. It was Katara. Saying nothing, she bent down wrapped her arms around him. He sighed and returned her embrace.

Once he could assure them that he was ok, they headed for bed, as did most of the other counselors, but Sokka knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, so he stayed on the steps, lost in his thoughts. Somewhere along the line, a wall had been built between him and Suki, and he was determined to take it down.

***

Tomi was a nice guy, sure, but Suki’s heart wasn’t into it that night. They sat on the beach and talked for a maybe an hour before a silence fell over them. Maybe it was their lack of mutual interests, or maybe it’s because deep down her heart was elsewhere, but something wasn’t clicking between them.

But what Tomi lacked in conversation skills, he made up for in the kissing department. Once he gave up on small talk their date improved significantly. He was a beautiful distraction, and he had made it clear he wasn’t looking for something long term either, so neither of them had any strings attached, and it felt good. Still, something felt empty when they separated and she looked up at the sky. A small voice inside her told her the truth she had been feeling all night. He was nice, decently funny, and a good kisser, but he wasn’t Sokka. 

Time had flown by, and he noted that it was getting late, so they decided to head to bed. He walked her back to her cabin, they exchanged goodbyes, and parted ways. Suki was somewhat relieved to go to bed that night. Her head was swimming as she brushed her short, messed up hair, and exchanged her contacts for glasses. She crawled in her bed, but couldn’t sleep. Eventually she gave up trying, and sat up, looking out her window. She saw somebody out on the porch on the cabin across from her’s. Grabbing her glasses, she confirmed that it was Sokka. She wondered what he was doing up so late, and decided she should go figure out what.

“Sokka? What are you doing out here?” She said quietly, stepping out of her cabin, and walking towards his. 

“I couldn’t sleep.” He said plainly. He looked at her, and a confused glance crossed his face. “When did you get glasses?” He asked. Suki’s face flushed and she rolled her eyes.

“Two years ago.” She replied flatly. Deep down, it was kind of funny that he’d never noticed. Sokka blushed, embarrassed he’d missed something so big. She snickered and stepped up onto the porch next to him. “I haven’t seen much of you these days, how’s it been?” She asked.

“Pretty good.” He replied, looking down at the railing. He was hiding something, she could feel it. Suddenly she felt guilty about avoiding him. He looked up at her, and his face softened. “Better now that you’re here.” He said finally. Suki practically melted on the spot. Without even knowing it, he always had a way of getting to her.

“We were both busy I guess.” She said lamely. She looked into his eyes. Even in the dark moonlight she managed to get lost in his gorgeous blue eyes. They didn’t say anything for a few moments, then suddenly Sokka pulled her into his embrace. She sighed and closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest. Neither of them said anything, they didn’t have to. Both of them needed this, more then the other knew. It was like there was this magnetic pull between them, and the end of the day, no matter how far apart they were pulled, they’d always find their way back to each other.

They stood there for what felt like hours and held each other. It felt almost like the other would shatter if one of them let go. She felt like one of her walls was cracking just slightly, ready to tumble down at any given moment.


	5. The First Night Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for taking so long to update, I got busy! Hope you guys enjoy and as always, thank you for the love and support!

They had officially been at camp for a week and a half, so it was time for the first test of the cit’s training, and one of the best night nights of the summer for the counselors. It was their night off, when they got to leave the campground after their afternoon activities, head in town, and let the cit’s take care of night activities and bedtime. This year for their first night off, they decided to go roller skating, Mai had found an arena about half an hour away, and Suki was excited. She went all the time with her friends back home, and always loved it.

“You excited for tonight?” Someone asked, interrupting her thoughts. It was Geshu, the counselor she was currently working with for their morning activity. She’d met Geshu a couple days ago, and they’d hung out together the night before. Like Tomi, he was a good kisser and and even better distraction, but all in good fun of course. She’d made an effort to see Sokka more in the previous days, because even if she couldn’t have him, she was still his best friend.

“Yeah! I love skating.” She replied, smiling at him. 

“I’ve never been, I guess you’ll just have to show me how.” He teased, winking at her. She smirked.

“I’m not much of a teacher, but I suppose I could make an exception tonight.” She replied playfully. A silence fell between them as they looked at each other. In all honesty, Suki was conflicted. He was cute, so was Tomi, and she promised herself fun, and she was having plenty. There was something about the feeling of letting go that was addictive, but deep down she knew she wanted something, or rather someone to hold onto. Sokka. She couldn’t deny that she still wanted him, and sometimes she wondered if he wanted her too. She tried to ignore the thought, but the closer she got to the other guys, the more she wished they were him. She quickly shook off the thoughts of Sokka and the other boys. Tonight- this whole summer- was about fun, and that’s what she planned to have tonight.

A few hours later, she found herself in her cabin with Katara, Mai, and their three cits. Ty Lee, Toph, and Azula. The campers were at dinner, and the counselors were excused from meal duties so they could get ready and give pep talks to their cits. Suki, Katara and Mai ran around the cabin, trying on outfits, doing their hair and makeup and chatting as Ty Lee, Toph and Azula sat on Suki and Ty Lee’s beds, giving their opinions on fashion choices and asking questions about the night ahead. Ty Lee seemed nervous, but Toph and Azula seemed confident in their abilities to handle things. Suki stood side by side with Mai in front of the mirror, finishing up her hair. Last minute she decided to bring her curling iron, and she was glad she did, because Katara had done an amazing job styling her short auburn hair into soft curly waves. She decided to tie the top up as she normally did, because even if she was trying to look cute, she still had to be practical, so she was carefully Dutch braiding the top.

“So cute.” Katara said in acknowledgement to her hair, walking up behind them. Suki gave Katara a once over in the mirror, she looked as beautiful as ever. She’d done just the right amount of makeup, and straightened her long, naturally wavy brown hair, which made it shine.

“You look amazing Katara.” She complimented her friend. Mai nodded in agreement, she was concentrating on her eyeliner. Suki finished the two braids, and tied them off with a green scrunchie to match her red and green plaid skirt. Once the three of them were ready, the packed up their things, and said goodbye to their cits.

“You’re going to be amazing tonight.” Suki said to Ty Lee as they embraced.

“Thanks! Have fun!” Ty Lee replied brightly. Suki smiled at her.

“Ready?” Mai asked. Her and Katara had run to their cabins to put their hair and makeup stuff away, and had since returned and waited for her on the porch. Suki stepped out to join them, and they headed to the lodge, where the counselors were meeting. Upon their arrival, Suki caught Zuko checking Katara out. She looked like she wanted to slap him, and Suki and Mai exchanged amused glances. Out of the corner of her eye, Suki saw Geshu look over at her.

“Hey Suki.” He said quietly. She smiled at him, but before she could reply, she was cut of by Sokka walking down the lodge steps.

“Hey Suki!” He called, walking right over to her. “Wow. You look incredible.” He said, looking her up and down. Was he checking her out? She felt a similar rush as she felt that first night in the lake.

“Thanks. You clean up pretty well yourself.” She said slyly. Now it was her turn to check him out, and even in a simple shorts and t shirt he looked great. His hair was down again, and it took all of her self control not to reach up and play with it.

After all, tonight was about fun, wasn’t it?

***

She looked better than incredible. Suki had always been beautiful, but in that moment Sokka was completely and totally floored. They stood there for a few more minutes as the older counselors got the camp van they’d be traveling in ready, and Sokka couldn’t stop himself from staring at her. Katara noticed his awestruck looks, and poked him in the ribs. He blushed and looked towards her.

“Tonight could be your night to shine Sokka!” She said in a sing song-y voice. 

“Yeah right.” He said, looking back at Suki. Katara followed his gaze and frowned. Suki was talking with Geshu, whom Sokka has noticed was missing along with her from the counselors after hours bonfire the night previously.

He knew he didn’t have a right to be upset about who Suki spent her time with if he didn’t have the courage to tell her how he felt, but it was hard not to. It pained him, in a way, to see her run around with all of these guys. He told himself it was because he could tell someone had hurt her, but deep down he knew that it was because he wanted her. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted any other girl, but they were caught in this weird orbital period, and every time he got close to telling her everything, she was off with someone else. Sokka turned away from Suki and Geshu. He didn’t want to spend the whole night feeling sorry for himself, and that started now.

The van was ready, so the counselors started pilling in. Sokka ended up in the second row next to Katara, with Zuko on her other side. He hadn’t looked to see who was behind him in line, so it took him by surprise when Suki slid into the seat next to him. She smiled at him, and he felt butterflies in his stomach, as he often did when she smiled. Geshu shot her a disappointed glance, but she didn’t seem notice.

The ride to the arena was fairly long, but certainly not boring. They talked and laughed in excitement and at one point, someone a few rows back started a game of never have I ever, which led to a lot of interesting stories. Once they arrived, they decided to skate first and grab dinner later, so they headed into the skating rink, checked in, grabbed their skates and got going.

Suki went of with Mai and Katara almost immediately, leaving Sokka to hang out with Zuko, Tomi and some of the other guys. They messed around for awhile, racing around the rink and trying to get each other to fall. Eventually, Katara came over and grabbed Zuko, and they skated off hand in hand, while Sokka decided to take a break.

He sat on one of the benches off to the side, looking around the rink. Mai was skating with Tomi and a female counselor he didn’t know, Katara was with Zuko, and at some point Suki had grabbed Geshu. It appeared that she was trying to help him skate, but he wasn’t very good. Tired of sitting on the side, Sokka decided to get up and skate around.

***

It had been about two hours since they arrived at the skating rink, and Suki was finally helping Geshu as she promised. He wasn’t very good, but Suki was trying to make the best of it. Geshu was nice, but they had even less in common then her and Tomi, and while she liked to be the bold one, Geshu looked like he wanted to run and hide at any given moment. She glanced around the room once, and saw Sokka skating alone. She sighed. That’s who she wanted to be skating with right now, that’s who she always wanted to be with. When they first arrived, Mai and Katara had drug her off, then Geshu had pulled her away, and despite her wishes for the night, she’d hardly seen him at all.

“I think I’m going to call it. I’m terrible at this.” Geshu said, stumbling a little.

“I think you’re getting the hang of it!” She said cheerfully. He shook his head. He looked genuinely upset for some reason, and she couldn’t figure out why. He started off, and she rushed to follow him, only to slip backwards. She started to fall, before she felt a hand on the small of her back, catching and steadying her.

“Sokka?!” She asked, looking up at him. She hadn’t even seen him skate her direction. He smiled down at her, not moving.

“I thought you were supposed to be good at this.” He teased. She giggled, flustered. He heart was racing, and she couldn’t tell if it was from almost falling, or being in his arms. He helped her up, and she leaned back against the wall.

“Normally I am!” She protested, and he laughed. The song changed, and Sokka extended a hand towards her. “Sokka I-“ she started.

“C’mon Suki, one song with me won’t kill you.” He said. She sighed and took his hand, locking her fingers between his as they skated off. She couldn’t say no to him.

Towards the end of the song, they approached Katara and Zuko, and Katara shot her an excited but confused glance. She smiled brightly back at her friend as they skated past, and felt butterflies in her stomach. Sokka looked over at her, and their eyes met for just a second. Just being next to him was enough to make her feel like she was on cloud nine. For the first time in days, she felt alive.

After the song ended, they met the group up in the rink’s cafe, and everyone ordered dinner. As they waited in line, Sokka caught Sokka looking over at her. There was something in his face that she couldn’t quite read.

“What?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing.” He said smiling her. Suki blushed, and felt a sense of warmth come over her.

Once they had their food, they sat down at one of the large booths with the other counselors, and everyone chatted excitedly as they ate. She hadn’t noticed when, but Sokka had put and arm around her at some point. She felt like she might faint on the spot. This is what she’d secretly always dreamed of. She found herself looking over at him.

“What?” He asked, noticing her.

“Nothing.” She replied, smiling at him.

***

The van ride home was far less exciting then the ride there, but Sokka didn’t mind. He sat next to Suki again on the ride home, and they talked quietly for a bit before the conversation died down. Next to him, Katara and Zuko were looking at something on her phone, his arm around her, with her head resting slightly on his chest.

“I’m tried.” Suki pouted, catching his attention. Suddenly, she rested her head on his shoulder, and he felt his heart rate increase.

“That’s what happens when you have to teach a teenage boy how to skate.” He teased, looking down at her. She reached over and punched his other shoulder.

“Shut up.” She said, looking up at him. He laughed at her, and she pouted even more. She turned her glance back out the window, but Sokka kept his on her. She was so close in that moment, and not just physically. He felt like this was the most he’d seen of her all summer, and he wished he could stay like this forever.

Unfortunately he couldn’t, because not long after the thought, they arrived back at camp. The counselors stumbled out of the van, worn out from their night of fun, and said their good nights. Sokka saw Zuko pick up Katara again, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Walk me home?” Suki asked, stepping right up next to him. He thought she’d gone off already.

“Of course.” He replied, smiling as they started towards her cabin. When they arrived, they stepped up onto her porch, and he paused.

“Goodnight Suki.” He said, turning to leave for his own cabin. 

“Hey.” She said, grabbing his wrist and turning him back around. He looked at her, confused. She reached up, and kissed him softly on the cheek.

“That’s for saving my ass tonight.” She said, before disappearing into her cabin. Sokka raised a hand to his cheek and felt his face flush as he wandered to his own cabin, dazed.

Somehow, she always got him.


	6. Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone !! Thanks again for all of your support, sorry for another long break !! School is starting up for me tomorrow so updates may come less frequently, follow me on twitter (sithskatara) for updates on when im posting !

“Alright ladies, let’s get going!” Suki called out to her cabin. They were getting ready for tonight’s activity, a game with their brother cabin, which so happened to be Sokka’s. Suki was excited for not only the game, but the chance to see him. It had been a few days since the night off and she’s hardly seen him at all, but she couldn’t keep him off of her mind. She hadn’t felt more alive than that night, and she was desperate for the feeling again. 

The girls finished getting ready, and Suki and Ty Lee took them down to the feild where they were to meet Sokka, Aang and their cabin. She saw the group of boys approaching and smiled to herself. 

“And you beat us here again!” Sokka said, approaching center field with Aang. She and Ty Lee laughed as they sat their campers down. 

“So, what should we play?” Suki asked him.

“I was thinking manhunt, or maybe just plain hide and go seek.” He replied, shrugging.

“What do we think?” Suki asked, turning to her campers, and Sokka turned to his. They were almost all in agreement for manhunt, and only a few hadn’t played, so they quickly explained the game and selected who was it, and everyone scattered to their hiding spots. The object of the game was simple, whoever was ‘it’ had to find and tag people, then those people also became ‘it’, the goal being to be the last person to become ‘it’. Suki has played this game many times over the years, and had somewhat become an expert. 

Her and Sokka decided to play with the kids, so she took her hiding spot, looked up to the stars, and waited to see where the game would take her.

***

They had been playing for about half and hour, and Sokka was somewhat bored. He’d changed hiding spots twice now, so all there was left to do was wait. As he waited, he couldn’t stop thinking about Suki. There was something about her that night at the roller rink that just felt so bright, so different from how she’d been the rest of the summer. He’d spent a lot of the summer observing her from the distance, and he could tell something was somewhat off with her, especially when she spent time with some of the other male counselors. She wasn’t the Suki he knew- and admittedly loved- when she was with them, but when they were together, he could feel that everything was right for her. If only he could get her to see what he saw, and get her to realize that she belonged with him. Everything was right when they were together, like the stars aligned or something, and he was desperate for her to realize.

He heard footsteps behind him, pulling him from his daydream, but before he could get out of the way, someone had pinned him to the ground. 

“Got you!” Suki called triumphantly. 

“You didn’t have to tackle me!” He protested. She held his arm against his back and laughed.

“Yeah, but this was more fun.” She replied. Sokka rolled his eyes, of course she was enjoying this. She released him, and he stood up, brushing himself off. Before they went their separate ways to find the rest of the campers, however many there were left, she grabbed his shirt and pulled her face close to his ear.

“Meet me on the beach after hours.” She whispered softly. Sokka’s face flushed and she disappeared. He stood there for a second, before regaining his composure and taking off to look for the other kids.

In the end, one of his campers was the last man standing, and his whole cabin cheered as Sokka announced the victory. It was bedtime for the kids, so the cabins parted ways and headed home. Sokka and Aang got them settled in bed, and Aang headed to the lodge for a game night with the other cits, leaving Sokka alone in the cabin to get ready. Since they were meeting on the beach, Sokka decided to throw on his swim suit and leave his hair down in case they wanted to go swimming. He checked on his campers one last time before heading out the door and to the beach.

***

Suki was already waiting for him when he arrived. She didn’t have any official plans for the night, so last minute decided to wear bathing suit with shorts on top in case they decided to go swimming. She sat on the beach, playing with the sand a bit as she waited for him. Other than the game tonight, she’s had a pretty rough day, and was looking forward to seeing Sokka more than she’d ever admit.

“If I step any closer, are you going to pin me down again?” A familiar voice asked behind her. She turned to look up at him and chuckled.

“No, that was just for fun.” She said, smiling at him as he sat down. “Is your arm ok though?” 

“Yes.” He said, laughing. 

“I’m glad.” She said. A silence fell over them, and Suki laid back on the sand, looking up at the stars. They were absolutely beautiful that night, and they seemed to be brighter than they’d been all summer. In fact, the whole world seemed brighter for some reason. She glanced over at Sokka, who was laying next to her. It was him. Whenever she was with him, everything felt brighter, more vivid, including herself. When she was with Sokka, she felt alive.

“Hey, are you ok?” He asked, breaking their silence.

“Yeah, why?” She replied almost instantly. He turned towards her.

“I mean actually, Suki. You seemed off today, and today hasn’t been the first day I’ve noticed it.” He continued. Suki’s heart fluttered, he really knew her better than anyone. “If you want to talk about something, we can.” 

“I had a weird day, to be honest.” She replied. “My ex texted me yesterday, something about wanting to get back together when I get home.” She told him. She hadn’t told anyone yet, but that text had caught her off guard, and it felt good to tell someone.

“Well, do you want him back?” He asked. To her surprise, their was the smallest note of disappointment in his voice. She couldn’t see his face, because they had both turned back to the sky at that point.

“No.” She replied. Her head was swimming. “Sometimes I’m not sure what I want.” She said, but deep down she knew that was a lie. She knew exactly what she wanted, it was right next to her. Her heart was pounding at this point, and in the silence between them she wondered how he couldn’t hear it. She felt a similar wave of adrenaline as she had that night in the lake, or at the roller rink, but today she decided to act on it.

Slowly she sat up and looked over at him. Before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned down and kissed him. Hard. He clasped his hand to her cheek and kissed her back with equal passion. Suki felt fireworks explode inside of her. This was all she’d ever wanted, and it was finally happening.

“Suki I-“ He started once they pulled apart. 

“Just shut up and kiss me Sokka.” She demanded, cutting him off. He didn’t need to be told twice, because instantly he pulled her back in. She ran her fingers through his hair, as he moved his hands to her waist, pulling her onto his lap. 

They separated once more, and she looked into his deep blue eyes, before kissing him for the third time that night. And that’s how they stayed, tangled up in each other, in a mess of passion, for a long time.

***

Sokka didn’t get much sleep that night, but he didn’t care. He felt like he was floating the next day, and didn’t care who noticed. He’d never felt more alive than last night, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Their weird orbital pattern had ended in a collision, and he couldn’t be happier. He knew he didn’t have all of her though, and he battled with the idea that he may just be the next of her flings for the summer, but for the time being he ignored the thought and just had fun. 

“Dude. You ok?” Zuko asked him the next day while they oversaw their cabins’ scavenger hunt. 

“Yeah! I’m great!” He replied brightly. Zuko raised an eyebrow at him, but Sokka didn’t elaborate. He wanted to keep what happened with him and Suki to himself, just for a little bit. It was like a happy secret between them, and he wasn’t ready to share it just yet.

Besides, he knew he didn’t have all of her yet. As the days passed, they only saw each other when no one else was around, in a blur of running around and stolen kisses. The more it continued, the more Sokka hated it. He loved Suki, he couldn’t deny it, but she wasn’t looking for love, and if they continued on the path they were on, it would only hurt both of them in the end.

He laid in bed a few nights later, and finally the truth hit him. His heart shattered, and he felt tears run down his face as he realized what he knew all along. Once and for all, he had to make a move, but it wasn’t the move he wanted to make. Just when he had her in reach, he had to let her go. Everything was brighter and more alive when Suki was around, but she didn’t want him the same way he wanted her. He couldn’t even hold onto the hope that she loved him as much as he loved her anymore.

Sokka looked out his window. The moon and stars seemed to dim just for him, as if they were telling him that this was the right choice.


	7. Meet Me In The Hallway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys !! sorry for taking so long, the first week of school totally kicked my butt. thanks for all of your support as always !!

The third week of camp passed by in a blur of stolen moments and sneaking around, not that Suki minded. The fourth week approached quickly, and the preparations for the color war would start soon. Suki was excited for the next big camp event, not just because it was one of her favorites, but because she needed a distraction. She’d been spending far too much time thinking about her and Sokka for her liking, and needed something to keep her mind off of things.

In a way, they’d been avoiding each other. Suki wasn’t sure why, but he hardly spoke to her during the day, she mostly only saw him at night, and they didn’t do much talking when they met. In a way she was relieved, because it kept things from going too far. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was wrong, and she knew exactly why. Love. Suki was completely and hopelessly in love with Sokka, and she was terrified to face her feelings, but every time they met up it became more apparent. The rush of adrenaline she felt when he kissed her wasn’t just her instinct to have fun, it was because she finally had everything she’d ever wanted.

Well, almost. She didn’t truly have everything she wanted, because if she did, they wouldn’t be hiding. If she had everything she wanted, she would be completely and totally his, and she wouldn’t have the nagging feeling that she wanted more when they met up. They would be completely open and together, not stealing kisses by the moonlight when no one was watching. The thought of hiding everything made Suki unreasonably upset. It’s what she told him she’d wanted, but it wasn’t truly what she wanted.

“You ok?” Katara asked her. They sat on the dock, watching their campers swim during their afternoon free swim.

“Yeah, sorry.” Suki said, turning towards her friend. She’d gotten lost in her thoughts again.

“Are you sure? You’ve seemed off recently.” Katara persisted. Classic Katara, she always knew when something was up with her friends. She sighed, but before she could respond, one of the camp boats passed by. They both looked as Zuko waved at Katara, and she waved back excitedly. Suki turned away as she remembered Sokka mentioning he and Zuko’s cabin had a boat ride that day, but neither of them acknowledged each other. Suki bit her lip and felt tears threaten her eyes as she turned back to Katara, who had a puzzled expression on her face.

“You and Sokka ignored each other.” She noted. Suki shrugged.

“He probably just didn’t notice me.” She replied, weakly. Katara saw right through her.

“Suki. Sokka always notices you.” She said flatly. “What’s going on with you two?” Suki sighed. Her friend could see right through her.

“To be honest Katara, I’m not totally sure.” She told her friend. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, ok?” Katara nodded and mimed sealing her lips. “Sokka and I have been… seeing each other recently.” Katara’s jaw dropped and she squealed.

“You and Sokka- finally!” She cheered. Suki regarded her sadly, she was so happy for them.

“Not quite, Katara.” She told her. Katara’s face fell as she continued to listen. “It’s not official, we just um, hang out, as it were, after hours and such.”

“You don’t seem happy about this, like with the other guys.” Katara noticed, resting a hand on Suki’s shoulder. 

“I’m not, Katara.” She said, nearly crumbling completely. “It’s amazing, but it’s awful at the same time. With the other guys, there weren’t any feelings involved, and so that’s what I tried to replicate with Sokka, but I can’t do it Katara! There’s something about him that makes it impossible to let him go, but I can’t let myself be his either. You remember last summer, with Yue.” Suki said. Katara nodded knowingly, and put an arm around her friend. Suki rested her head on Katara’s shoulder. She had felt numb for days now, and it felt incredible to have someone to lean on. The thought of this only made her a little more sad, because she knew that she had missed being comforted like this by Sokka. 

All at once, everything hit her. She missed when they didn’t just hide and use each other as distractions. She missed when she felt like she could come up to him during the day, and stop everything and have a conversation. She missed sitting with him at bonfires, watching the orange glow reflect in his blue eyes. She missed when they would sit on the beach, and he would hold her and they would just talk. She missed the people they had been two weeks ago, before she had stupidly grabbed him and kissed him like he was some toy. She choked back tears as she realized all her mistakes. She had done this all to herself, and she didn’t know if there was anything she could do to fix it.

“Suki, are you ok?” Katara asked, breaking the silence between them.

“No Katara, I’m afraid.” She admitted, more to herself than to Katara. “I’m afraid that I’ve ruined everything between Sokka and I, and I’m afraid I’ll never be able to fix them. I’m afraid that he hates me, and I’m afraid that…” She trailed off. She couldn’t even say it.

“Afraid that what?” Katara asked softly, compelling her to go on.

“I’m afraid that Sokka hates me,” She started once more. “And I’m afraid that I love him.” Tears streamed down her face, and a silence fell over them.

“Sokka doesn’t hate you, Suki.” Katara said, turning to look her in the eyes. “Sokka could never hate you. You guys may be in a rough place right now, but Sokka doesn’t hate you, and he never will. I think you’re both too afraid to come to terms with the fact that frankly, you both want each other more than anything.” Suki’s heart rate increased. Was it possible that Sokka had always felt the same? She tried not to get her hopes up, but Katara seemed so sure of her words.

“I’ve got to fix this.” She said confidently, perhaps more than she felt. “Thank you, Katara.”

“Go get him, Suki. He’s waiting.” She replied, smiling at her friend. Suki smiled in return, feeling better than she had in days.

***

During dinner that night, the counselors and cits were tasked with going into town and getting ready for the upcoming color war. Sokka was excited for the event, because it meant he got to take his mind off of his situation with Suki for a while. He’d fallen for her, and hard, but it was clear that she didn’t want to just commit to her, so he had to let it go. He wasn’t going to pretend like their involvement wasn’t fun, and there was something exhilarating about sneaking around, but he could see that it was slowly killing both of them, and he needed to step up, and end things. 

He sat with Aang on the ride to town. It was much shorter than the ride to the roller rink from a few weeks ago, and much less interesting. Sokka found himself looking at Suki, who sat with Ty Lee in the row in front of him. He tried not to let his thoughts wander in her direction, but sure enough he couldn’t help but think of her. Even if she was always around, he missed her. He liked seeing her, but not the way he had been recently. He wanted more than anything to just be open and happy with her, but she showed a lack of interest when it came to being his official girlfriend. He sighed to himself as they pulled in the parking lot and began to unload. He didn’t have time to think about her right now. 

Almost two hours later, Sokka found himself unpacking the supplies for the upcoming week with Aang on the front porch of their cabin. Being on the blue team, they had gone all out with blue shirts to decorate, blue bandannas to wear for the ending game of capture the flag, and decorations for the cabin decorating contest that would come that week. The counselors and cits did the same as he and Aang, and many of them were talking across porches. Their campers were having a movie night in the lodge, so like the night at the roller rink, it was just them for a while. Sokka took a break and looked across the way to Suki’s cabin. She was laughing at something with Ty Lee, Katara and Toph, who were in the cabin next to hers. He sighed once more. How could she look so happy when everything between them was so wrong?

“Hey loverboy!” Zuko called from the porch next to his. “You ok?” 

“Yeah.” Sokka replies. Zuko raised an eyebrow and leaned on the railing. He and his cit had been unpacking their haul of red things for the color war, but finished early. “Or at least I will be.” Sokka continued.

“Wanna talk about it?” Zuko asked sincerely. Sokka shrugged. 

“Nothing you haven’t heard.” He replied. Zuko sighed.

“Well, I’m here if you need anything.” Zuko told him. Sokka thanked him, then went back to the task at hand.

No long after, all of the counselors finished and decided to hang out in the lodge once they got the kids to bed. They sat in the big game room, talking amongst themselves. Someone started a game of truth or dare that didn’t last very long, on account of the fact that they were all tired and didn’t have many good ideas. The most interesting dare was ‘kiss the hottest person in the room’, to which Zuko responded by grabbing Katara by the waist and kissing her in front of everyone. Everyone groaned, especially Sokka, as the pair ended up tangled in each other, and a few rounds later the game died. 

Sokka decided it was now or never to confront Suki, so when the group fell to smaller conversations, he stood up and went over to her. “Meet me in the hallway.” He whispered in his way out the door. Clearly she’d gotten the message, because she followed him but moments later. She walked over to him, and immediately pulled his lips to hers and kissed him. Sokka couldn’t stop himself from resting a hand on her cheek, and almost backed out of the conversation right then and there. When the separated he took a second before speaking up.

“Suki I need to talk to you-” He started, slightly breathless. She nodded and took a step back. “I-I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry. You’re an amazing girl, but this isn’t right. It’s not what I want, and I can’t keep pretending it is.” He looked at her, desperate to read her expression. Her face fell slightly, and he noticed her shoulders tremble slightly. It took all of his self control to not reach out and pull her into his embrace right then and there.

“I understand, Sokka.” She said softly, reaching out to touch his arm slightly, before sighing and walking down the hall, and out of the lodge. He wanted so badly to run after her, and tell her he didn’t mean it. He wanted to follow her out the door and take her down by the lake and tell her about how he’d loved her since they were just campers, and how he’d been too afraid to tell her summer after summer and how foolish he’d been to let her slip away this summer. He wanted to hold her and promise that he would be hers if she simply said the word, and tell her that she was more to him than a summer fling. He wanted a million things that he’d just given up in a few simple sentences.

But he couldn’t. He’d made his choice, and even though he felt instant regret, it was his choice nonetheless. His heart shattered as she left, and he couldn’t stop the tears that threatened his eyes from falling. He felt empty inside, like someone had hallowed out his heart, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever be whole again. He slowly made his way out of the lodge and to his cabin. He had to go to bed before he made another regretful decision. As he climbed in bed, he looked out his window and up at the moon. It was dim that night, a cloud had covered it, and it was almost like it was telling him that it was disappointed. He sighed and shut his eyes, desperate to shut out the day he’d just had, and he fell asleep that night heartbroken.

Worse yet, he didn’t know that he’d now broken her heart for a second time.


	8. Where Do Broken Hearts Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my lovely readers ! another slow update, my apologies :) thank you for the support, and to those of you who are in school like me i hope things are going well ! this chapter is somewhat inspired by the one direction song where do broken hearts go, so if you haven’t listened to it i recommend ! can you tell im a directioner or what ?? anyway, enjoy !

She didn’t let herself cry that night. She didn’t let herself cry the next morning, or the whole next day. She told herself he’d done the right thing. She told herself they needed this, and it would be better for both of them. It may not have been what she truly felt, but it was good enough.

The next day was overcast, almost reflecting how both of them felt. It was a busy day, thank goodness, because it was time for the first day of the color war. Today, the cabins would decorate their t-shirts for the big capture the flag game at the end of the last day of camp. The four teams- red, yellow, blue and green- sat out on the fields by cabin, chatting as they painted their shirts. Suki was checking up on her campers when someone appeared behind her.

“Boo.” A familiar voice said. Suki whipped around and smiled.

“Tomi!” She cheered. He opened his arms and she gladly met his embrace. She hadn’t seen much of Tomi since their date, and she missed him more than she thought.

“Hey Suki.” He replied, smiling as they pulled apart. “How’ve you been?” He asked.

“I’ve been… better.” She replied half heartedly. He raised an eyebrow. She sighed. “It’s been a rough week.”

“That’s exactly why I came over here- well besides being on the same team for the color war- I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight? I’ve noticed you seemed down lately, and figured you might want some company.” He asked. A puzzled glance crossed Suki’s face. Did he somehow know she had a thing with Sokka, and now that it was over, was he trying to get back with her? “It won’t just be the two of us, I already invited Mai.” He said, glancing over to the red team. As if on cue, Mai looked up at them and smiled. Suki turned back to look at Tomi.

“You know what? That sounds great.” She said, smiling. They stood in silence for a moment before Tomi was pulled away, and she turned back towards hers.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, and Suki found herself kind of just going through the motions. The yellow team ended up winning the t-shirt contest, which left some of Suki’s campers feeling defeated. To cheer them up, she and Ty Lee took them out to the ropes course in the woods for their afternoon choice activity. She remembered working the ropes course with Sokka last summer during the first session, and him being slightly terrible at it. She’d spent the afternoon laughing at him, and he was mortified. Looking back, she smiled slightly. It was comforting, in a way, to be able to look back on when things were normal for them.

That night, Suki found Tomi and Mai sitting on the end of the dock. They greeted her as she took a seat next to them, and started chatting. Not long after they started talking, Suki found herself lost in her thoughts.

She found herself remembering a night from two summers ago, before everything started to fall apart. It was late, and Suki couldn’t sleep, so even though most of the other counselors had gone to bed, she sat out on the dock alone. She thought she was the only one awake on the whole campground, but eventually Sokka stumbled down the dock. He told her he couldn’t sleep either, and they sat on the dock and talked for a while. At some point she got sleepy, but she felt bad leaving him alone. They sat on the dock for probably an hour, and it was one of the best hours of her life. Looking back, she regretted not telling him that night. Everything could’ve been so much simpler if she’d had the courage to tell him years ago, but it was all too late now.

“Hello, earth to Suki!” Tomi teased, waving a hand in her face. Suki’s face flushed as Mai snickered at her.

“You ok?” Mai asked, looking over at her with genuine concern. Suki sighed. 

“Yeah, sorry.” She replied, shaking her head. Mai and Tomi shot her confused looks, but she dismissed them with a simple nod. She didn’t have the energy to tell them what was really wrong. She looked up at the moon, and wondered suddenly what Sokka was up to that night.

***

Sokka had woken up feeling awful. He could hardly focus on making his team’s t-shirts, because he was too distracted trying to find Suki. He wanted to see her, make sure she was ok. He finally located her, standing across the field a bit with the other green teams. He saw her talking to Tomi, the first guy she’d seen this summer. He quickly looked away, feeling sick to his stomach. It was his own fault for ending things, but it still hurt to see her bounce back that quickly.

The rest of the day passed him by. He felt like he was watching everything around him instead of experiencing it, and he hated it. Soon enough night had fallen, and he found himself with no plans. He decided he needed to talk to someone, so he set out to find Zuko or Katara.

Lucky for him, he found them both, down by the fire pit the counselors often used. They had a small fire going, and Zuko sat on one of the benches while Katara laid with her head in his lap, looking up at him. He played with her hair absentmindedly as they talked quietly about something.

“Just the people I wanted to see.” He said, taking a seat across from them.

“Hey Sokka.” Katara said, looking over at him. Zuko looked up at him.

“What’s up?” He asked. Sokka sighed.

“I needed someone to talk to. Looks like I’m getting two for the price of one.” He joked. Both of them chuckled. 

“Playing therapist for my girlfriend’s brother! This should be fun.” Zuko said sarcastically. Katara reached up and smacked him, and he pouted at her. Sokka rolled his eyes in disgust. This was so them- and yet he had a very small nagging sense of jealousy. 

“I ended things with Suki.” He said suddenly. Katara quickly sat up, almost knocking both of them off of the bench.

“You what?!?” They asked in unison. 

“I had to end things with Suki. It wasn’t what I wanted, and it was only making things worse.” He continued. 

“What do you mean it’s not what you wanted Sokka?! Suki is all you’ve ever wanted!” Katara exclaimed. She had a point.

“I want to date Suki, not just run around in secret with her!” He retorted. “Look, Suki isn’t looking for a relationship, and I am. It hurts too much to have part of her when I want all of her.”

“And how do you know she’s not looking for a relationship?” Zuko asked him. 

“Yeah, are you sure she’s not just saying that because that’s what she thinks she wants?” Katara asked, more hinting than curious. Sokka’s heart sped up. Did Katara know something he didn’t? He shot her a confused glance, and she mimed sealing her lips. He looked at Zuko, who also provided no help.

“Maybe you’re right…” He started.

“I often am.” Katara smugly. Zuko laughed as she laid back down in his lap.

“Thanks guys.” Sokka said, standing up. He had to go find Suki.

“Anytime, Romeo.” Zuko teased. “Now go get your Juliet.”

It didn’t take him long to find her. She sat alone on the edge of the dock, looking up at the moon. He made his way to her slowly, his heart pounding.

“Hey.” He said softly, standing behind her. She turned to look at him, and stood up.

“Hey Sokka. Sorry, I was just leaving.” She said.

“Wait no- stay.” He replied instantly. She shot him a glance, but stayed still. “I wanted to talk to you.” She didn’t say anything. He cleared his throat. “I’ve noticed something’s different about you this summer. You never seemed like the type of girl who would go off on all of these flings-” Before he could finish, she scoffed.

“Maybe you don’t know me as well as I thought.” She said, annoyed. Sokka’s heart dropped and she crossed her arms, looking away from him.

“No I didn’t mean that-”

“Didn’t mean what, Sokka?” She said, looking back at him. “Do you have a problem with how I’ve chosen to spend my summer? Because I really don’t think you should be criticizing me after the past few weeks.” 

“I’m not criticizing you!” He replied. Clearly he’d struck a nerve. “I just mean that I know you better than anyone, and this doesn’t feel like you! I just want to know what changed, that’s all!” He said, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. She rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

“God- what did I ever see in you?!” She hissed, turning and starting to walk away. Sokka’s heart rate increased. 

“I beg your pardon?” He asked and she walked off. She paused and slowly turned back towards him. Her eyes had a hint of sadness in them, but her body language spoke volumes of anger.

“You want to know the truth Sokka? I’ve liked you for as long as I can remember, and yet you’ve managed to break my heart twice. Last night almost killed me, even if I didn’t show it.” A lump caught in his throat.

“And the other time?” He asked.

“Last summer. This exact spot. First night of camp. That’s when it all started.” She replied, her shoulders trembled again, as they had in the hallway the night before. “I wanted to tell you how I felt, but you couldn’t shut up about this girl from back home, and I wanted so badly for you to talk about me the way you talked about her. You went on and on about how beautiful and funny and kind she was, and it broke me. I wanted to disappear on the spot, but I sat there silently like a good friend.” She was crying at this point, which only made this hurt worse. “I told myself I was going to let you go once and for all this year, but when you told me she was out of the picture, I couldn’t help myself but let you back in. And now, here we are.”

“Suki,” He started, his voice breaking. His heart shattered, as he realized the answer to the question he’d started to ask himself weeks ago. It had been him all along. He was the one who hurt her, he was the reason they were standing here. She waved a hand at him in dismissal.

“What’s done is done, Sokka. We made our choices.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to walk away!” He started. “Why do you think this is the only logical decision? What are you so afraid of?”

“You, you idiot!” She snapped. “After last night I thought you’d hate me.”

“I could never hate you.” He replied softly. She looked into his eyes and shook her head.

“Sokka please, just let me go. We can leave this all behind, we can be strangers for the next four weeks, then go back to our separate lives, and forget about everything. Maybe we could even be friends again.” She said, tears streaming down her face.

“Suki please. Don’t do this. Don’t walk away from everything now. Don’t ask me to move on, don’t ask me to abandon you.” He begged. “I could never abandon you.” She bit her lip and looked away. 

“Why not?” She asked feebly.

“Because I love you!” He replied instantly. “I’ve loved you for years and every summer I chickened out of telling you, and I never thought you’d ever go for a guy like me, so I somewhat gave up last spring, when I met Yue. But I ended things with her because I realized I couldn’t deny my feelings for you any longer, and I wanted things to be different this summer, but you had all of these plans that I didn’t want to ruin, but I ended up making things worse because I couldn’t resist having you, even if it was only part of you.” She didn’t say anything. Sokka looked away from her, feeling a weight off of his shoulders. 

She took a step closer to him, still not saying anything. He looked back at her, right into her deep grey eyes. Slowly, she rested a hand on his cheek, and drew his lips to hers. Sokka wrapped an arm around her waist as she kissed him. This time was different then before. They weren’t hiding, they weren’t messing around. This was real. They pulled apart slowly, and she smiled the brightest he’d seen her smile in days. Tears pooled in her eyes as Sokka searched them for some indication of what she’d say next.

“Do you really mean it?” She whispered. “Do you love me?” 

“More than anything.” He replied plainly. She smiled again and kissed him once more. 

“I love you too.” She said once they pulled apart. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on top of her head, shutting his eyes.

“Sokka, I’m so sorry for making this so complicated. I was so afraid of how you felt that I wouldn’t let myself feel anything.” She said as they embraced.

“No Suki, I’m sorry.” He said, shifting so he faced her. “I’m sorry things had to be so complicated, and I’m sorry for ever hurting you. If I could go back and change everything I would, because it kills me to know I ever hurt you.”

“Shhh.” She said, pressing a finger to his lips. “That doesn’t matter now Sokka. I’m here. I’m yours, and I’ll be yours for as long as you want me.” 

“I don’t plan on letting you go anytime soon.” He replied, smiling at her. 

“Good. Break my heart again and I might beat you up.” She joked.

“Suki-” He started.

“I’m only kidding Sokka.” She replied, laughing at him. “My heart is yours to break.” He leaned over and softly kissed her on the forehead.

“How about I promise not to do that anymore.” He said softly. 

They didn’t stay out on the dock for much longer, because of how late it was. He took her back to her cabin, her hand in his, and felt the happiest he had all summer. The moon and stars were especially bright that night, almost congratulating them. When they reached her cabin, they stopped on the porch.

“Goodnight Sokka.” She said, smiling at him.

“Goodnight Suki.” He replied, kissing her softly.

In that moment, everything was perfect. It had taken time, it had taken pain, it had taken heartbreak and patience, but they’d finally gotten it right. Finally she was his, and he was hers. Maybe they weren’t perfect, but after weeks of orbit, they collided for good.


	9. The First Color War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my loves ! thank you all for sticking with this story and supporting me ! i know it’s been a while, i’ve been busy with school :’) if you want more info on updates follow me on twitter @sithskatara ! as always, let me know your thoughts and enjoy !

It had been two days since that night on the dock, and Suki was happier than ever. She and Sokka spent as much time as possible together over the past few days, hanging out on the beach or in the lodge at night, and she loved every minute. Although they had made things official, neither of them had gone around telling people. They agreed that it wasn’t a formal announcement that needed to be made, and if people found out, they found out.

The end of the first session was near, and the campers, although excited for the color war, were definitely starting to feel their camp experience coming to an end. Suki felt bad for her girls, but also started to brace herself and Ty Lee for the inevitable end of camp drama that would ensue any day now. As their time at camp came to a close, it was almost guaranteed that friendships- and the few camper relationships- would end before distance became an issue. One of the biggest factors was the camp dance, because there was always some drama with who was slow dancing with who, who was “going” to the dance with who, and whatever other silly reasons the middle schoolers came up with to be mad at each other. 

Suki found the drama quite silly, but even she couldn’t pretend like she had never been a part of it. She remembered back to her last summer as a camper, the summer before 8th grade. Katara, Suki and Mai had actually been friends since their days as campers, and that summer both Mai and Suki had crushes on Zuko. Suki’s was much much smaller than Mai’s, due to the fact that she also had her lasting crush on Sokka. Neither of them had discussed it with each other or him, and they didn’t discover they both liked him until after the dance. Being 13 at the time, Zuko was probably completely unaware of the drama he’d cause when he asked Suki to dance with him and not Mai, and in the end neither of them ended up dating him, and both got over him within days of the first session ending. It was kind of ironic to look back on now, considering that of their little trio, Katara was the only one who didn’t like Zuko back then, and yet she was the one who would end up with him just a few years later.

The dance was still a few days away, so they had plenty of time before they would need to be prepared to do damage control. Today was the cabin decorating contest, and Suki was excited. This was one of her favorite activities of the summer, and she had been getting her campers ready all week. She and Ty Lee now leaned up against the railing of their cabin’s porch as their campers hung a big green g2 sign above the door, and streamers from the doorframe. It was almost lunchtime and they had been working all morning. They started with the inside of their cabin, putting green streamers on all of the bunks, green flags hanging from the supports in the ceiling, and even some green LED lights Suki found at the craft store around the edge of the walls and ceiling, and now they wrapped up the outside. The camp head called out the end of the decorating time and sent everyone onto lunch and afternoon activities while they judged the cabins for the contest. As they rounded up their campers and headed for the dining hall, Sokka caught up to Suki’s cabin and fell in step with her.

“Hey.” He said, glancing over at her and smiling. Suki returned his smile.

“How’d decorating go?” She asked as they walked.

“Pretty good, but I peeked into your cabin and we might have some tough competition.” He joked. Suki laughed and shoved his shoulder.

“I’m sure you did great.” She replied. By now they had made it to the mess hall, and stopped just inside the lobby area while their campers moved towards the tables.

“Are we still on for tonight?” Sokka asked, taking her hand. She rolled her eyes. Despite the fact that they were together now, he still asked every day.

“As if I would make plans with anyone else.” She replied.

“Just checking.” He said, winking at her, before giving her hand a quick squeeze and walking away. Her eyes followed him across the room, and for the millionth time in a few days, she wondered to herself how she got so lucky.

After lunch, Suki took her cabin out to the watersports area, where her afternoon activity was taking place. The watersports instructor was teaching the campers various dives today, so she didn’t have much to do. She didn’t have time to look and see who the other cabin was, but she hoped the other counselor was nice, considering they’d be stuck watching their kids together all afternoon. 

The other cabin ended up being b4, which was Geshu’s cabin. Suki hadn’t seen him since that night at the roller rink, but since they already knew each other she figured it wouldn’t be too bad. She sat perched on an old brick wall that separated the forest from the lake area. The campers had gone out to the large high dive that sat on a dock with the water sports instructor, and Geshu had watched them for a distance for almost the entirety of the activity, before joining Suki just as the kids returned.

“Hey!” She said brightly as he leaned back on the wall.

“Hey Suki.” He replied, looking back at her and smiling. She returned his smile, slightly confused as to why he didn’t come over sooner. She noted that he looked nervous about something. 

“So, what’s up?” She asked.

“Not much.” He replied. “I actually wanted to ask you something.” 

“Oh?” Suki said, confused.

“Do you want to hang out tonight? I know it’s been a while but…” He asked. “I wanted to talk to you about something.” Suki paused for a second. She had promised Sokka that she wouldn’t make plans with anyone else, but Geshu seemed determined.

“I have plans, but we could talk for a few minutes?” She offered. He nodded.

“Meet me on the lodge porch after your kids go to bed.” He said, before turning to round up his campers. Suki was uneasy about seeing him alone again, but she figured Sokka wouldn’t mind too much. She rounded up her own campers and took them back to the cabin to get ready for dinner, and the camp bonfire that night.

That night at the bonfire, Suki sat with Ty Lee and her girls as they made s’mores and sang campfire songs. Everyone was having an amazing time, laughing and talking about their diving skills from earlier. The head of camp made the announcements for the day, including the winner of the cabin decorating contest, which ended up being g5, Katara’s cabin. Suki watched as her cabin erupted with cheers, and turned to her cabin to make sure they were being good sports. They clapped and cheered for Katara’s cabin, and many of them cheered for the friends they had in the cabin. Zuko’s cabin didn’t look pleased, but Zuko himself was so ecstatic for his girlfriend, he ran over and picked her up in a hug, spinning around.

“That’s our rival cabin!” One of his campers called out once he put her down. Suki looked over at Sokka, and their eyes met as they laughed. 

“Actually, it’s our sister cabin!” Zuko replied, looking like he wanted to flip the kid off. Zuko had a point, being in charge of b5 made Katara’s cabin and his brother and sister cabins, as Sokka and hers were. Not much happened during the bonfire after that, so soon enough Suki found herself getting ready to head out for the night. She quickly changed outfits and headed towards the lodge to get her conversation with Geshu over with.

“Hey!” He called as she climbed the stairs. 

“Hey.” She replied, standing across from him. “So what’s up-” She started, but was cut off by him leaning in. She threw her hand up and jumped backwards. “What are you doing?!”

“I thought that-” He stammered, clearly embarrassed. Suki took a deep breath. As he regained his composure. “That’s kinda why I asked you to hang out tonight. I like you Suki, like a lot, and I thought you felt the same.” Suki’s heart dropped.

“Oh Geshu um-” She started. “No, I’m sorry.”

“But our dates-”

“Where mindless fun, at least I thought. I didn’t know you’d take it like this.” She said, looking at him. “I’m sorry Geshu but it’s not like that… I’m with Sokka now…” Suddenly the expression in his eyes turned from embarrassment to anger.

“But I just saw you with Tomi!” He fired at her. She was taken back by his harsh tone, but tried to remain calm.

“Yeah, I hung out with him and Mai… and that was right before Sokka and I got together…”

“I thought we had something.” He said coldly.

“We went on two dates! What we ‘had’ was a fling at best.” She shot back. He rolled his eyes. “Look Geshu, I’m sorry you saw something more than me, but I really didn’t think our dates meant anything to either of us.” She said softly.

“They meant something to me.” He replied. Suki bit her lip and looked away. She was tired of hurting people this summer, but she had to be honest with him. Geshu glanced at her once more, then turned and started to walk away. She didn’t bother to stop him, and quickly left the porch to find Sokka. She was late for their date, and wanting nothing more than to be in his arms at that moment.

As she searched for him, a light breeze passed through that sent a chill down her spine, and she was tempted to run to her cabin and grab a jacket. She shrugged it off and decided she better not keep Sokka waiting. She’d been looking forward to seeing him all day and didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Hey! Sorry I’m late, boy troubles.” She said as she approached the firepit he sat around. 

“Boy troubles?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Did I do something wrong?” Suki laughed, taking a seat next to him.

“No. Definitely not you.” She said, smiling at him. “Just- don’t get mad at me for what I’m about to say.”

“I think it would be pretty hard for me to be mad at you.” He joked. Suki chuckled halfheartedly.

“Geshu and I ran our afternoon activity together and he said he wanted to talk to me tonight, so I was like why not?! Well, that was my mistake.” She started. Sokka nodded, listening along. “Then I get there and he tries to kiss me- and I resisted the urge to slap him- and then he tells me he likes me, and I tell him that I’m with you and he gets mad and storms off.” She finished, sighing.

“I’m sorry he got so mad. Personally I think you handled it well.” Sokka said, glancing at her.

“So you’re not mad?” She asked, looking back over at him.

“Of course I’m not mad. Why would I be mad?” 

“I just thought that-” She started, feeling tears rise in her eyes. She’d felt like crying since Geshu stormed off. Sokka reached over and put his arm around her, drawing in her close to him and kissing her temple. Suki practically melted into his embrace, and rested her head on his shoulder, wondering to herself again how she got so lucky.

“I wish I could promise that from here on out I will be the only boy who would give you troubles.” He joked quietly. Suki reached up and slapped his shoulder.

“How about I promise you that you’re the only boy, troubles or no troubles.” She said, laughing. 

“Deal.” Sokka replied, looking down at her. Another chill runs down her spine, and Sokka’s eyes widen. “Jesus Suki, you’re freezing!” 

“I didn’t have time to grab a jacket, I was busy fighting with Geshu, remember?” She replied, rolling her eyes. Sokka reached down and grabbed the hoodie he brought, passing it to her.

“Put this on.” He instructs. He doesn’t need to tell her twice, she’s already slipping it on over her shirt, snuggling into its warmth. “Better?” He asks.

“Better.” She replies, before reaching up and drawing his lips to hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him as they kissed, and she wrapped her hand around his neck. Suki smiled as they pulled apart. “So much better.” 

“Other than Geshu, are you ok?” Sokka asked, looking over at her with concern in his deep blue eyes. Suki nodded in reply, and he smiled at her. 

“How about you? You seem down.” She noted, toying with the collar on his shirt slightly.

“Yeah, I’m good.” He replied, almost half heartedly. Suki’s hand dropped to her lap and she looked at him.

“Sokka, don’t brush me off.” She said softly. “I know you better than anyone, and I can tell when something’s wrong. Talk to me.” He sighed and scratched the back of his neck, looking up to the sky.  
“I’ve just had a lot on my mind recently.” He admitted softly.. “I’ve been weirdly homesick, but at the same time I don’t ever want to leave. I know it’s only mid summer, but it feels like time is going too fast. I miss my family, and my hometown friends, but at the same time I..” He glanced over at her.

“What?” Suki asked, encouraging him to go on.

“I don’t want this to end.”

“Camp?”

“No. This.” He paused. “Now that I have you, I don’t want us to be separated. It was hard enough when we were just friends, but now?” He stopped, choking back tears. Suki reached up and rested a hand on his cheek.

“Oh Sokka.” She said. Her heart ached at the sadness in his voice.

“It’s silly, I know-”

“Not at all.” She said, cutting him off. “But we don’t have to worry about that now, ok? We’ve still got time left.” She assured him. He smiled and leaned down, kissing her softly.

“I love you.” He said, smiling as they pulled apart.

“I know.” She teased.

***

The next morning, Sokka was leaving his cabin when he was interrupted by someone waiting for him on the porch.

“Good morning.” It was Zuko. He leaned against the railing, clearly waiting for Sokka. Sokka let out a startled yelp and Zuko laughed.

“Of all the people I expected to be waiting on my porch in the morning, I can’t say you’re one of them.” Sokka said. “What’s up?”

“Your sister’s mad at me.” Zuko said, looking down at the floor. This was serious. Zuko only referred to Katara as his sister when something was wrong.

“Wanna talk about it?” Sokka asked, leaning up against the railing next to his friend. Zuko sighed.

“We had a disagreement, and things escalated, and I said some stuff I didn’t mean at all.” Zuko said cooly. He paused. “I’m really worried, Sokka. We didn’t like, officially break up or anything, but…” He trailed off.

“You’re scared of losing her?” Sokka finished. Zuko nodded.

“I love her, Sokka. I don’t know what I’ll do if she never speaks to me again.” He said, his voice breaking slightly. 

“I know the feeling.” Sokka said sympathetically. “Take your own advice Zuko, and go talk to her. I was around last summer, I know how much she means to you. You two practically exist in your own world when you’re around each other, and I know she feels it too. She won’t stay mad forever.” Zuko glanced over at him, and Sokka smiled.

“When did you get so wise?” He asked. Sokka chuckled. “Oh hey, I’m sorry about Suki by the way. I probably should’ve said something sooner.”

“What do you mean?” Sokka asked. Zuko shot him a puzzled glance.

“Well I haven’t seen you two together in the past few days, and Katara and I saw her talking to that Geshu guy on the lodge steps last night.” Zuko replied. “So I’m guessing your chat that night after Katara and I yelled at you didn’t go very well.” Sokka nearly slapped himself. He forgot to tell his sister and best friend that he worked things out.

“Um…” He started. He wasn’t sure if now was the best time to mention he and Suki’s relationship status, with Zuko being so upset about fighting with Katara. “Suki and I are together…” 

“But I saw her with-” Zuko said, his eyes widening.

“Yeah, he asked her to hang out last night. You saw her telling him we were together.” Sokka said, slightly embarrassed. 

“You’re telling me Suki’s former hookup found out before your sister and your best friend?!” Zuko teased. “seriously though dude, that’s awesome. I’m glad you guys are finally happy.”

“Me too.” Sokka gushed. “Oops, sorry.” He said sheepishly. Zuko laughed before turning and walking towards his cabin to get his kids ready for breakfast.

Sokka headed to the mess hall with Aang, talking with his campers as he went. When he got there he spotted Suki right away.

“Sokka!” She called, waving at him. He sent his campers in with Aang, and she sent hers’s in with Ty Lee.

“I have something to tell you.” They both said in unison. Both of them burst out laughing.

“You first.” Sokka said, once things died down.

“Katara and Zuko are fighting.” Suki said. Sokka laughed again.

“Let me guess, she paid you a visit this morning?” He asked. She nodded. “Zuko came to see me.”

“When did we become the counsel of romance?” Suki asked. Sokka shrugged.

“A couple of days ago they were giving me advice on how to talk to you.” Sokka confessed. Now it was Suki’s turn to laugh. “I’m serious!”

“You needed advice to talk to me?” She teased. Sokka’s face flushed. 

“Yeah.” He said sheepishly. Suki reached over and kissed his cheek.

“You’re adorable.”

The rest of the day passed by in a blur of anticipation of the night ahead. It was the second to last night of the first session, so it was time for the end of the color war, the camp wide game of capture the flag. It was a big deal, and the four teams got super competitive. Sokka tried his best to control his campers, but they were bouncing off the walls in excitement for the night activity. 

That night, the whole camp gathered on the open sports field milling around within their teams, getting ready for the game. Sokka stood next to Katara, looking around for Suki. Both of them were in their cabin shirts, and decked out in blue bandannas and facepaint. Sokka finally spotted Suki talking to Tomi, and waved at her. She noticed him and walked right over to him.

“Hey! Good luck tonight.” She said as they met halfway between their teams. Sokka smiled at her.

“You too.” He replied.

“I like the facepaint, did you do it yourself?” She asked. Sokka laughed.

“Nope, I made Katara do it.” He admitted.

“Well it looks great. I like that color blue on you. Matches your eyes.” She noted. Sokka’s face flushed.

“Thanks.” He replied. “You look great as usual.” Suki laughed as the camp head told everyone to make their way back to their teams.

“Gotta go. See you after?” She asked.

“Of course.” He replied, reaching down and kissing her quickly before they split ways. On his way back to the blue team, he saw Katara turning away from Zuko, and he smiled to himself.

“I see you worked things out with Zuko.” He teased as she fell in next to him.

“Shut up.” She said pushing him. They both laughed, before turning towards the center of the field, where the game was about to start.

It was a simple game really, each team had a flag to hide, and whichever team could keep theirs and collect the other three won. There was a little complication with stealing flags, but overall a basic game and fundamental part of camp. As the game started, Sokka and Katara took on the lead for the blue team, assigning the other campers and counselors alike to various tasks.

Nearly two hours had passed, and the blue team was in the lead, having successfully stolen and guarded the yellow and red flags, as well as having managed to keep their blue flag hidden. Katara and Sokka called a meeting with the other counselors and they huddled in the center of their area.

“Alright everyone we need green.” Katara started. “I vote we send Sokka into the fray.”

“Me?!?!” Sokka exclaimed, and Katara giggled. 

“Look at them! Suki’s obviously on guard.”

“So you want me to fight my own girlfriend?”

“I was going more for distracting her, but a fight sure would be interesting.” She teased.

“Katara!” He exclaimed once more. “How would you feel if this was Zuko and the red team?” Katara rolled her eyes.

“You’re forgetting I was the one who got the red flag.” She replied. The other counselors laughed, as Sokka grinned sheepishly. She had gotten the first flag over Zuko, and had to basically tackle him to do so.

“Fine. But if I get dumped over this I’ll never forgive you.” He replied, she smiled at him, and the team sent him off.

He decided to try and sneak up on her, and quickly spotted the green flag. When no one was looking, he reached out and snatched it, and was about to get away when she caught him. Sokka froze, not sure what to do. She was going to try and steal from him, and he couldn’t let his team down. As she approached, Sokka panicked and quickly drew her close to him, kissing her, hard.

“Thanks for the flag.” He whispered as they pulled apart, before turning and sprinting the other direction. Suki’s jaw dropped, and she chased after him, but it was too late. Sokka had gotten back to the blue area and won the game.

“And that’s victory for team blue!” The head of camp announced. The team erupted, and Katara jumped into Sokka’s arms.

“You did it!” She said into his shoulder.

“Anything for you little sis.” He replied. He set her down and they smiled at each other, before being pulled into a huge team hug. As they made their way out of the group, Sokka saw Zuko pick up Katara and spin her around, and he noted their facial expressions. They were going to last, he could tell.

“You little sneak!” A voice called, pulling his eyes away from Zuko and Katara. It was Suki.

“I hope you’re not too mad at me.” He replied. She sighed and laughed.

“Hardly. It was a genius plan.” She said, looking up at him. He leaned down and kissed her, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Good.” He replied as they pulled apart. She smiled up at him, and they didn’t speak for a moment. Suddenly, snuck his other hand down around her knees and swept her up bridal style into his arms.

“Put me down!” She screeched, laughing.

“Nope! I owe you one.” He replied. She laughed as they headed back towards the group.

That night, the whole camp gathered around a bonfire, sitting wherever they liked. Sokka sat on a bench with Suki, Katara and Zuko, with his arm around Suki. The four of them laughed and talked along with everyone else, enjoying the night as a camp, not separated by colors or cabins. Sokka looked over at his sister, his friend and his girlfriend at one point and smiled. 

In that moment, it didn’t matter what would happen to them when summer ended, because they had each other right there, and they weren’t going anywhere just yet.


	10. Dusk Till Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello loves !! thank you all for your patience with this fic <33 today’s chapter is minimally inspired the song ‘dusk till dawn’ by zayn and sia, but the name also just fits the timeline well :) i hope you are staying safe and healthy !! thank you for your support and as always, let me know your thoughts and enjoy !!

The next afternoon, Sokka sat with Katara at the ropes course, as their cabins messed around on the different obstacles. It was a fairly open day, due to it being the last day of the first session. Sokka was sad to see this group go, and sad that summer was already halfway over. He didn’t like to think about it too much, but he knew his time with Suki was limited. Outside of camp, she lived an hour away, and soon enough he wouldn’t be able to see her whenever he wanted. He wasn’t sure what to do about it either, because he didn’t want to lose her, but at the same time distance would be hard for them. They’d always stayed good friends summer to summer, but would their relationship hold up?

“Sokka? Hello? Anyone home?” Katara asked, pulling him out of his daydream. He snapped his head in her direction suddenly, and she laughed.

“Sorry.” He said sheepishly.

“What’s on your mind?” She asked, concerned. Sokka sighed.

“I can’t stop thinking about how fast this summer is going by.” He admitted. 

“Oh Sokka…” Katara started. “You’re worried about Suki, aren’t you?” She asked. He nodded. “Don’t worry about that now, okay? You guys have plenty of time, and you’ll make it work.” She finished, smiling slightly. Sokka glanced over at her. It was easy for her to say, Zuko lived in the next school district over, and even before they were dating the two would hang out during the school year. Sokka hardly saw Suki outside of camp. He sighed and tried to let the pang of jealousy go. He couldn’t be mad at Katara for something she couldn’t control.

“Maybe you’re right.” He said.

“I often am.” She teased. It was the same thing she’d said the night he and Suki got together, and that had clearly worked out.

“When did you get so good with love?” He asked her. She laughed.

“I always have been. You were too busy with Suki to notice that I have successfully been pulling epic summer romances for years now.” She replied, smugly. Sokka burst out laughing. Both of them knew that wasn’t entirely true, although he had to give her some credit, she had had a fair amount of success.

They were fairly quiet for the rest of the activity, and eventually time came for them to head up to the lodge for the camp wide meeting about packing up and leaving the next morning. Katara and Sokka rounded up their kids with Toph and Aang, and they walked side by side up to the lodge area. Upon arriving, Sokka found Suki almost immediately. She and Zuko had been on free swim together, and they walked towards the lodge from the lake, talking and laughing about something. Sokka smiled as they approached. She wore his hoodie again, and he noticed her shiver a couple times.

“Hey.” She said, pulling his lips to hers quickly.

“Hey.” He replied once they pulled apart. “Your hair’s wet.” He noted.

“Well, this idiot-” She reached over and poked Zuko’s chest. “Decided it would be funny to push me in.” Zuko looked away sheepishly as Sokka and Katara laughed.

“Your girl beat me up.” Zuko said, looking back at Sokka.

“You deserved it.” Katara replied, coming to Suki’s defense. Zuko’s face fell.

“Not even you are on my side?!” He joked. The four of them laughed, before the head of camp started getting everyone organized.

The four of them sat almost exactly the way they had the night before, and Suki rested her head on his shoulder as they listened. By and large the meeting didn’t really apply to them, since they weren’t leaving yet, so Sokka kind of zoned in and out as the head of camp droned on. Once the meeting was over, they were sent to their cabins to get ready for the night ahead. They had to take down their color war decorations and get dressed for the big dance, so dinner that night was spent getting ready. 

“See you at the dance?” Sokka asked Suki, taking her hand before they parted. Suki smiled brightly, and Sokka felt butterflies in his chest. He loved her smile.

“Of course.” She replied, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek, before turning to her campers. Sokka smiled as she walked away, then turned back to his campers.

“Let’s get out of here!” He called. His campers cheered, and they headed for the cabins.

***

Suki sat with Ty Lee on her bed, doing her makeup for the dance. Their campers were loudly getting ready around the cabin, which they had not long ago finished clearing of their green decorations. Ty Lee chatted excitedly about the night ahead and Suki half listened. Across the cabin, she heard a girl burst into tears. Both her and Ty Lee quickly identified the girl, and Suki sent Ty Lee to try and figure out the problem. Amidst the chaos, Suki heard a knock on the door, and quickly stood up to answer it.

“Zuko!” She said as she opened the door. She was surprised to see her friend waiting on the other side. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello to you too Suki.” He teased. Suki’s face flushed. “It’s our turn to go help with setup, remember?” Suki buried her face in her hands and sighed. She’d forgotten all about her shift, and if it wasn’t for her being paired up with Zuko, she probably would’ve missed it entirely.

“You’re a lifesaver, Z. Let me go tell Ty Lee to make sure the girls stay under control.” She said, turning back towards her cabin. She quickly updated Ty Lee, then her and Zuko set off for the lodge.

Upon arrival, they were put to work immediately, tagging out Haru, the counselor from b3, and Katara, who had the shift before them. They were the last two counselors to work on setup, and all that was left was hanging up the camp banner. It was a simple task, so Suki assumed they’d be done in a few minutes. She volunteered to climb up on the ladder and hang it.

“You sure?” Zuko asked. Suki smiled confidently.

“It’s not that high up, I’ll be fine. Just spot me, ok?” She replied. Zuko laughed and nodded, and she got to work. Suki was right, it only took a few minutes to get up and get the first part hung. She quickly climbed back down the ladder, and adjusted it to reach the second side, Zuko half watching and half helping her. She had hung up the second side and was making a final adjustment when the ladder shook, and Suki felt her balance get thrown off, as she was sent backwards. Zuko reached up and grabbed her waist, pulling her down before she could fall. Her heart rate skyrocketed, and the panic must’ve been adamant on her face as he held her and the ladder teetered.

“Relax, Kee.” He said softly. “I got you.”

“Thanks, Z.” She replied, still shaky from her almost fall. 

“What is going on here?” The head of camp demanded, entering the room. Suki practically jumped out of Zuko’s arms.

“Nothing!” They replied in unison. The head of camp shook her head, and mumbled something neither of them heard, before walking away. Suki and Zuko both let out a sigh.

“I should get back to my cabin. See you later, Thanks for catching me!” Suki teased.

“Anytime, Kee.” Zuko replied, smiling at her. She flashed him a quick smile in return before ducking out of the lodge.

“How is everything here?” She asked Ty Lee upon her arrival.

“All good, everyone’s ready!” Ty Lee replied brightly. Suki smiled at her.

“I love that dress!” Suki complimented, Ty Lee beamed and thanked her, as Suki gathered her outfit for the night and headed to the bathroom to change. She was smart enough to get her hair and makeup done before setup, so all she had left to do was change. She curled her hair again, just as she had the night at the roller rink, and tied it half up so it wouldn’t get in the way. She put on the dress she packed, which was a plain black dress with a tighter v neck top, spaghetti straps, and a short flowy skirt that she had worn to homecoming the previous year. She accessorised with a couple of bracelets, a gold star choker and her classic s necklace she wore almost every day, threw on her light pink vans and met Ty Lee her cabin out on the porch, where they waited excitedly to get dismissed to the dance. 

“Suki! You look amazing!” She heard someone call out. She turned to face the voice. It was Katara, who stood at the foot of the steps outside Suki’s porch in a beautiful light green dress. Her hair was down and curled slightly, and she wore black vans, similar to Suki’s pink ones. She looked incredible, Suki could hardly tear her eyes away.

“Katara you look incredible.” Suki replied. “I know you like blue, but green might be your color.” Katara’s face flushed and Suki descended the stairs to meet her friend. Just as Suki met Katara, Zuko walked out of his cabin, and Suki watched his jaw drop and held back a laugh. 

“Katara you look beautiful.” He said, approaching them. Suki wasn’t even sure he noticed she was standing there, based on how he looked at Katara. She took a step back towards her cabin, turning away from them.

“Holy shit.” She heard someone say, just slightly above the noise of the crowd. She turned to see Sokka stopped at the top of his cabin’s steps, staring at her. Her face flushed and she smiled, feeling butterflies in her stomach. 

“Hey.” She said softly, as he made his way towards her.

“Suki you look beautiful. Like, so beautiful.” He said, still looking at her agastly. 

“You look pretty good yourself.” She said. “I see you took my advice on the blue.” She noted, playing with the collar of his blue button up. Like the facepaint yesterday, it brought out the blue in his eyes. He shrugged and drew her in close, kissing her. 

The counselors milled about for a bit, chatting excitedly with the various cabins about the night ahead. Soon enough the head of camp sent everyone to the lodge for the dance. Suki took Sokka’s hand as they walked along next to Zuko and Katara, who also walked hand in hand, and their campers followed behind them. Over the past few days, Zuko, Katara, Sokka and herself had become even more of a little group, so their campers- some of whom had started calling the four of them the ‘double daters’- were used to spending time together, and Suki was pleased to see campers from all four cabins talking it up on the way to and from activities they had together.

They made their way to the dance, where the party had already begun. In the short time since Suki and Zuko had finished setting up, the dj had come in and started the music. The lights were dimmed and replaced with various colorful spotlights and fairy lights. Suki looked out across the crowd and smiled. Everyone was already having such a good time. She felt a small wave of sadness crash over her, because as fun as tonight was, it signaled that the summer was already halfway over, and she had been thinking a lot about what Sokka had said that night by the fire. Their time together was limited, and she knew she would soon miss seeing him whenever she wanted.

“You alright Kee?” Zuko asked suddenly, interrupting her bittersweet thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry.” She replied, glancing over at him. He raised an eyebrow and she smiled at him.

“Come on, your boyfriend’s embarrassing himself on the dance floor. Let’s get out there.” He teased. Suki looked over at Sokka and laughed. Zuko wasn’t exactly wrong, he wasn’t the strongest dancer. Without another word, they went out to the dance floor, and Zuko grabbed Katara to dance with almost immediately.

Around an hour later, Suki stood back from the crowd, watching. She and Sokka had been dancing for some time, and she needed a break. They were chatting quietly when the music changed to a slow song from a few years back, and Suki groaned. Sokka shot her a confused glance and her face flushed.

“Remember the summer before eighth grade?” She asked him.

“Oh yeah! The summer where you wouldn’t shut up about Zuko!” Sokka teased. Suki reached over and punched his shoulder.

“This was the song we danced to.” She said flatly. 

“I remember.” He teased once more, taking a sip of his drink. He shot her a glance and she rolled her eyes. She noticed him looking over her shoulder, and turned to follow his gaze. Zuko stood behind her with his hand extended.

“Mind if I steal her for a second?” He asked.

“Don’t look at me, she’s the one you want to dance with.” Sokka replied. Suki glanced at Zuko.

“Come on Kee, it’s our song.” He said. Suki glanced back at Sokka, mentally asking him if he was sure. He smiled at her and nodded, and she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“Love you, be back soon.” She said, before taking Zuko’s hand. He led her out to the dance floor and carefully placed his arms on her waist as she placed hers on his shoulders. They didn’t speak for a bit, just swaying quietly to the music. Suki glanced around the room, and she noticed Katara dancing with Haru, the counselor she had worked setup with.

“You look great tonight, by the way.” Zuko said, looking down at her.

“Thanks Z, you too.” She replied softly, looking back up at him and smiling. He smiled back at her, and she found herself somewhat lost in his soft golden eyes. Suki always teased Katara about how much she raved on and on about Zuko’s eyes, but now she knew why. 

Soon enough the song ended, and Suki felt like her head was spinning. She parted ways with Zuko, and stepped outside. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but she suddenly felt the need to take a moment to breathe by herself. She stood on the porch, leaning up against the railing and staring up at the moon. She didn’t know why, but something about her interactions with Zuko that day confused her slightly. 

“You ok?” Someone asked softly after a few minutes. She heard the lodge door shut and turned around.

“Sokka.” She said, her heart rate increasing. 

“I saw you step out after your dance with Zuko and figured I should check in.” He said, walking up next to her and taking a spot along the railing. She didn’t speak for a moment, and he didn’t press on.

“Sorry.” She said finally. “I just suddenly felt so confused, about…”

“Zuko.” Sokka finished. Suki’s heart dropped. Had he read her mind?

“Sokka I…”

“It’s ok Suki.” He said, started, glancing away. “It’s ok if you’ve realized that you made the wrong choice.”

“The- the wrong choice?” She questioned. Sokka looked back over at her.

“If-” He started. He paused, inhaling and exhaling once. “If you made the wrong choice about us.” He finished. Suki glanced over at him. She saw tears in his eyes and her heart shattered. She’d never meant to hurt him.

“Sokka.” She started, her voice shaking. “Do you think you made the wrong choice about us?” Sokka’s face softened, and reached over and gently placed his hand on her cheek.

“No.” He said firmly. “I’ve never been more sure I’ve made the right choice in my life. I love you, Suki. Plain and simple.” He paused. “But I want you to be happy, always. Even if that means not with me. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy.” Suki smiled softly, and her heart swelled. Any thoughts of Zuko- or any of the other guys from this summer for that matter- disappeared instantly. 

“I love you too, Sokka.” She replied. “And I’m sorry for ever doubting it.”

“Don’t be sorry, I would’ve understood either way.” He replied. 

“That’s what makes you so amazing.” Suki gushed. She brought her lips to his, wrapping a hand around the one that still rested on her cheek. When they pulled apart, she smiled up at him, looking into his deep blue eyes.

“Come on,” He said, smiling back down at her. “Let’s go dance.”

***

Back inside the dance, the music was blaring. The dj soon announced the last song of the night, a slow song. Sokka and Suki had been dancing with Zuko, Katara, Tomi and Mai for a while now, and as soon as the slow song came Sokka took Suki’s hand and drew her close to him. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist. They didn’t speak for a minute, just swaying to the music quietly. He noticed Suki exchanging surprised glances with Katara, who was dancing with Zuko, and he chuckled. She looked back at him and her face flushed.

“So, are you going to clue me in on the big surprise, or keep me guessing?” He teased. Suki pretended to think it over, then smirked.

“Tomi and Mai. They’ve been hanging out a lot recently, and look how close they’re dancing.” She said. Sokka looked over. They looked completely normal to him, basically dancing the same way he and Suki or Katara and Zuko were dancing. 

“So you and Katara are playing cupid?” He teased once more, and Suki’s eyes widened.

“Gosh no!” Suki replied, and Sokka raised an eyebrow. “We’re just having fun!” Suki retorted. 

“If you say so.” He teased, and her face fell. Sokka laughed and she rolled her eyes. 

The song came to an end, and Suki took Sokka’s hand as they left the dance floor to round up their cabins. They walked back to the cabins together, sending Aang and Ty Lee in with their campers to get them in bed. One of the older counselors had invited them to hang out on the beach after the dance, so once they saw the lights go out in the cabin and their cits head back to the lodge for clean up, they made their way down to the lake, hand in hand.

The other counselors stood at the edge of the dock, still dressed up for the dance. Someone had music playing, and everyone milled around, chatting. Sokka and Suki found themselves chatting with Tomi and Mai, Sokka’s arm wrapped lazily around Suki’s shoulder, her hand wrapped in his. It had been a long day, so it didn’t take long for people to start heading off to bed, or off on their own. Suki had been talking with Zuko and Mai for a bit, and Sokka found himself talking to Geshu, of all people. Ever since he found out about Sokka and Suki, Geshu hadn’t been the nicest to Sokka, but weirdly enough they worked it out that night. Geshu even apologized to Sokka- not that Sokka needed an apology, he should talk to Suki about that one- and he wasn’t a bad guy. Amidst his conversation with Geshu, Suki came back over to him and took his hand, wrapping her fingers between his and holding onto his arm with her other hand. He smiled instantly at her presence, and soon enough Geshu dismissed himself. 

“I’m taking this as a sign that you’re ready to get out of here?” He asked quietly, looking down at her. She smiled and nodded, and they headed back up towards the beach. As they left, Sokka saw Zuko carrying Katara as they walked away from the dock, he laughed. Neither of them were ready for bed yet, so they found themselves sitting on the beach side by side. They didn’t speak, simply happy to be with each other. After a few moments, Sokka glanced over at Suki, and noticed she was looking back over at him.

“What?” He asked softly. Suki smiled brightly.

“Nothing.” She replied. Sokka smiled back. She looked back up at the sky, but Sokka couldn’t tear his eyes off of her. Suki had always been beautiful, but something about the moonlight made her look radiant. 

A few more moments of silence passed, before Suki looked once more at Sokka. Suddenly She leaned over and kissed him. Sokka instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She wrapped her hands in his hair, and Sokka practically melted. They spent the rest of the night tangled up in each other, completely and totally happy.

***

Suki woke up the next morning to the sun shining brighter than it felt most mornings. Suki thought about how weird it was, considering the cabin blinds always kept the sun out, as she laid with her eyes still closed. Suddenly she snapped her eyes open and nearly screamed out loud. The sun was ridiculously bright because she wasn’t in her cabin. She laid on the sand of the beach, with her head resting on Sokka’s- now shirtless- chest, his arm around her shoulder. She glanced around as best she could without disturbing him just yet. She looked over at Sokka, and noted how peaceful he looked. She smiled to herself as he slept on, completely unaware of their situation. Suki knew Sokka had always been attractive, but something about the golden hue of the morning sun made him look even better. As much as she loved being here in his arms, they had to get up and back to their cabins before someone else woke up.

“Wake up you idiot.” She hissed, nudging his shoulder with her free hand. Sokka groaned and Suki rolled her eyes.

“Five more minutes Aang.” Sokka replied, not even opening his eyes. Suki held in a gasp. Sokka was always a deep sleeper, Katara teased him about it constantly, but she didn’t know it was this bad. He hadn’t even registered that he clearly was not in his cabin, and that she was not Aang.

“Sokka. It’s me.” She hissed. His eyes flew open and he looked down at her, his eyes widening.

“Shit!” He exclaimed, realizing what happened. “We crashed, didn’t we.” 

“Yep.” Suki replied, looking back up at him. “Come on, let’s get back to our cabins.”

“We don’t have to go back.” Sokka teased, raising an eyebrow. She shot him a stern look and he smirked “It’s just you and me…” He teased, leaning over and kissing her neck.

“Sokka!” She exclaimed, her eyes going wide. He pulled away and laughed. She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious- we’re dead if we get caught.”

“I was only kidding Suki.” He replied softly. She sighed and leaned over and kissed him softly, before standing up to gather their things. She found his shirt discarded in the sand a few feet away, and tossed it to him.

“Put a shirt on.” She teased. Sokka frowned.

“Oh so now you want my shirt on.” He joked.

“Believe me, it’s only for the sake of potentially getting caught.” She replied, smirking. 

“Suki!” He exclaimed, now his eyes going wide. She laughed as he slipped the button up across his shoulders, not bothering to close the buttons.

Not long after they collected themselves, they quietly made their way back to their cabins. Suki ducked in the door and checked the time. She barely had time to take off her makeup and change from the previous night before the campers were supposed to wake up and finish packing. It was an early morning, because they would leave right at breakfast, and it would just be the counselors for the rest of the day, until the new campers arrived. 

Sure enough, Suki was just walking out of the bathroom after cleaning her face, fixing her hair and taking out her contacts when she saw her campers up and packing their things. Suki supervised and helped girls as they needed, and the girls began to step outside as they finished up. As the last girls left, Suki stepped outside. Across the way she noticed Zuko and Katara talking to a set of twins, a boy and a girl, who had been in their cabins respectively. 

“I just don’t want to leave yet!” The girl cried out, on the verge of tears. She wrapped her arms around Katara, and Katara pulled in the boy, who was also almost crying, and Zuko joined them. Once they pulled apart, Zuko must’ve told a joke she couldn’t hear, because suddenly they were all laughing. Suki smiled at her friends before turning back towards her own campers. Most of them stood around, talking with friends across cabins, exchanging numbers and social media if they hadn’t already, hugging goodbye, some even crying. Suki counted her kids, to make sure they were all still here. She came up one short and quickly looked around, noticing she couldn’t find Yerra, her youngest, anywhere.

“Have any of you seen Yerra?” She asked a small group of her girls who stood nearby. They shrugged and shook their heads, and Suki thanked them, scanning the crowd once more. She tried not to panic, but she truly couldn’t see her anywhere. One of the girls Suki had asked tapped her on the shoulder and pointed towards Sokka’s cabin, and Suki let out a sigh of relief. Yerra stood right on Sokka’s porch, and they were talking. She quietly made her way over, and her heart swelled heard Sokka consoling her.

“I know you’re going to miss it here. Especially your counselor, huh?” He asked softly. Yerra nodded. “Me too.” He added. Tears streamed down her face, and Sokka reached over and brushed them away. “But you had fun, right?” Yerra nodded once more, before she wrapped her arms around him, thanked him, and walked away smiling.

“There you are! I was worried sick!” Suki teased. Yerra giggled and threw her arms around Suki too. Suki smiled as the young girl walked away, returning to her friends.

“Hey.” Sokka said softly. “Look- I’m sorry about last night, I didn’t mean to risk getting in trouble and I feel awful.”

“Oh Sokka.” Suki replied, taking a step closer to him. “Don’t be sorry. It was my fault too and besides, we didn’t get caught, so all’s well that ends well, right?” She joked. Sokka smiled and pulled her into his tight embrace. Suki felt another wave of relief crash over her as she held her. She shut her eyes, and despite the entire camp being around, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

As they pulled apart, Sokka leaned on the porch railing, facing the campers below with an arm still wrapped around her waist. Suki rested her head on his shoulder as they watched their campers say their goodbyes. Suki tried not to think about the fact that soon enough that would be them, but for now it didn’t matter.

Glancing over at Sokka, she wondered what she had ever been so afraid of. This summer hadn’t been perfect, but here, now, it sure came close.


	11. Rumors and Sparks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello loves !! if you saw me publish this earlier no you didn’t (coughs michelle) sorry for taking forever (again) and thanks for the support !! let me know your thoughts as always, love you !!

The next morning just after breakfast, Suki hummed to herself quietly as she cleaned the arts and crafts center. She was supposed to be working with Zuko, but he seemed to be running behind. They had a whole day until the next set of campers arrived, and had a lot of work to do. She threw out left behind crafts, organized art supplies of all variates, and was wiping down the tables when she heard the door slam and someone enter the room.

“Oh good Z, you made it.” She teased, not even looking up from the task at hand.

“I knew it.” A voice that was clearly not Zuko’s said. “You  _ were _ waiting for Zuko!” It was Mai. Suki turned to see her leaning against one of the counters by the door.

“Well yeah, we’re supposed to be cleaning together. What are you doing here anyway, aren’t you and Sokka organizing the sports closet?” Suki questioned, leaning back on the table and crossing her arms.

“Cut the act! I know something’s going on with you and Zuko. This is probably your little hookup spot, isn’t it.” Mai replied. Suki almost fell over in shock.

“Excuse me?!?!” Suki exclaimed. “There is  _ nothing  _ going on with Zuko and I. We’re both happily taken, by a set of brother and sister, I might add.” Mai’s face fell. 

“But-” She started. Suki raised an eyebrow. “Tomi and I saw you two at the dance and I guess we just assumed…” She trailed off, suddenly very interested in the floor. Suki’s face flushed with anger.

“Mai. Did you tell people you and Tomi thought there was something happening with Zuko and I?” She asked, choking back tears slightly.

“No. Tomi and I were just talking about it.” She replied, looking back up at Suki. Suki scoffed. “I promise. And I’m sorry for assuming. I was hoping I was wrong.” She continued. Suki sighed. She seemed genuine. 

“I hope you aren’t lying to me. And it’s ok, I guess I can see how you might let your imagination wander.” Suki said, feeling defeated. Mai apologized once more before turning and leaving. Suki turned back towards her work, wanting to cry. Today already felt like more trouble than it was worth, and it had just started.

“Oh shit, am I late?” Zuko asked, entering suddenly. Suki sighed. She wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with him yet.

“Yeah, but it’s fine.” She said, turning to face him. 

“Woah Kee, what’s wrong?” He asked, moving towards her, and leaning up against the table next to her. He’d read her like a book.   
  
“Mai just came and told me she thinks I’m cheating on Sokka with you. She saw us at the dance, and assumed...” Suki said flatly. Zuko’s eyes went wide, and he looked like he might fall over, just as she had when Mai told her.

“Can’t two best friends relieve their awkward eighth grade days in peace?” He wondered out loud. Suki giggled slightly. “Kee I love you, but not like that.” He said, looking around.

“I know. And I know you would never do that to Katara.” She says softly. She suddenly feels like shrinking away. 

“Damn straight.” He says, sounding angry. He looks back at her and his eyes soften. “Kee, you look really upset.”   
  
“I’m worried Z!” She says, looking up at him. “I don’t know if I believe her. Mai’s always been somewhat of a gossip, and Tomi’s worse. This is so bad.”    
  
“It’s going to be ok.” Zuko said, reaching over and pulling her into his embrace. Suki sighed into his shoulder. “Sokka and Katara know better than to listen to camp gossip. He trusts you. He knows there’s nothing here.”   
  
“He knows how much you love her.” Suki said as they pulled apart, still looking at him. Zuko’s face fell, and Suki bit her tongue before she could ask what was wrong. Suki noticed he had a certain look about him when someone mentioned Katara, he had for years, but right now it wasn’t showing, and Suki was curious why, but it didn’t seem like the right time to ask.

  
“Exactly. We’ll be alright Kee.” He said. She smiled at him, and they went to work finishing up their chores.

Once their work was done, they parted ways and Suki headed to her cabin to change. The counselors planned to have lunch down by the lake and take a boat out on the lake for the afternoon to celebrate the end of the first session. Suki quickly chose a green bathing suit and slid a pair of shorts over the bottoms. She threw a scrunchie on her wrist and grabbed her towel before heading back out the door,

She stepped out of her cabin and saw Katara talking with Haru, and Alima, the counselor of g1. She looked really shaken up, and a wave of fear crashed over Suki. Katara had heard the rumors about her and Zuko, Suki could tell. Suki nearly turned and ran right back into her cabin when Katara approached her. 

“Tell me it isn’t true.” Katara said, resting her hands on Suki’s shoulders. Her eyes were a shade brighter than her brothers, and tears brimmed in them. “Tell me he’s lying and that you and Zuko aren’t..”   
  
“It’s a lie.” Suki said, searching her friend’s eyes for any indication that she believed her. “I would never do that to Sokka. I would never do that to  _ you. _ ”

“Thank goodness.” Katara sighed, pulling Suki into a tight embrace. “I know I never should’ve doubted you but after Zuko and I’s fight last week I’ve been worried about everything so when he told me- God I was so stupid for believing it.” She said, her head resting on Suki’s shoulder. Suki patted her friend’s back lightly before pulling away to look her in the eyes once more.   
  
“It’s ok Katara.” She said, taking both of her friend’s hands. Tears had spilled down the blue eyed girl’s cheeks at this point, and Suki’s heart ached. “What’s going on with you and Zuko? I worked with him this morning and he showed little indication of anything being wrong. I thought you guys worked it out?”   
  
“Not really…” Katara said, somewhat wistfully. “We kinda did, but there’s this weird tension and it’s just been awful, and I didn’t think Zuko would hurt me like that but then when I heard about it I remembered everything that happened and I guess I couldn’t help but give in.” She said sheepishly. Suki sighed. 

“Katara, I think you need to talk to Zuko. Like, actually talk to him. He is so ridiculously in love with you, I’m sure you can work this one out.” Suki said. Katara nodded.

“I’m sorry I thought so little of you, even if it was in blind rage at my boyfriend.” She said quietly.   
  
“Oh Katara you don’t have to apologize.” Suki replied, smiling at her friend. “If I was in your position I probably would’ve handled this way worse.” Suki assured her. Katara laughed lightly, and Suki threw her arm around Katara’s shoulder. “Let’s get down to the beach.”   
  
Suki and Katara made their way to the beach, talking and laughing as they went. Based on the size of the group, Suki noted that she and Katara were probably the last ones to arrive. Sokka spotted her immediately and took her hand, pulling her away from the crowd. Suki threw an apologetic glance over her shoulder at Katara, who laughed and waved her off.

“Hey are you ok? Zuko told me everything after cleaning this morning.” Sokka asks gently, his fingers grazing the back of her hand.

“Yeah I’m alright. It’s Katara I’m worried about.” Suki says, glancing back towards her friend. She stood next to Zuko, talking with Aang and Haru, but the two of them weren’t somehow tangled up in each other, which wasn’t a good sign. Suki took note of their distance and sighed. “She heard the rumors somewhere, and she and Zuko never recovered from their fight and… I’d just never forgive myself if I was the reason they broke up.” Suki choked out.   
  
“Does Katara know they aren’t true? Does she blame you?” Sokka asked. Suki shook her head.

“No, I talked to Katara before we came down here. We’re fine.” She replied.

“Then you have nothing to worry about.” Sokka said softly, reaching over and tucking a loose hair behind her ear, before resting his hand lightly on her cheek. Suki practically melted into his touch. 

“You’re not upset about this at all?” Suki wondered. Sokka smiled.

“I have no reason to be. You told me last night there was nothing going on with you and Zuko, Zuko told me the same this morning. I trust both of you, and you’ve done nothing wrong.” He said. Suki leaned over and kissed him.   
  
“You’re the best. I should’ve dated you years ago.” She teased. Sokka chuckled.

“Better late than never.” He replied, leaning over to kiss her again.

***

After they had lunch, the counselors load onto the boat and head out onto the water. They don’t have a plan for where they’re going yet, so for now they’re just blasting music and talking. Sokka sat with his arm around Suki, absentmindedly twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers. He caught her looking at Zuko and Katara, who he’d admit only seemed to be sitting together by default, and rolled his eyes.

“You’re going to give yourself a stress heart attack if you don’t stop trying to analyze my sister and her boyfriend’s every move, babe.” He said. Suki stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed.   
  
“I’m worried about them, excuse me for wanting the best for my friends.” She retorted. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.    
  
“I want the best for our friends too, but I’m worried about you.” He said, more serious than before. Her expression turned serious as well.

“You’re right. Whatever happens is not my fault.” She said, looking up at him.

“She sees the light of day!” He joked, pumping a fist in the air. She rolled her eyes before reaching over and smacking his hand. “Ow!” He exclaimed. “You wound me, my love.”

“Can it Romeo.” She replied flatly. 

“ But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon-” He started, before Suki reached up and put her lips on his, cutting him off.

“God you never shut up, do you.” She teased as they pulled apart.

“Not if I can help it.” He replied, smiling. She smiled back, before leaning over so her head rested on his shoulder once more. Sokka looked down at her, still smiling. She glanced up at him and her face flushed.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked him.

“Am I not allowed to look at my girlfriend?” He teased. Suki smiled and went to answer, before their moment was interrupted.

“You guys are gross. I never should’ve set you up.” Katara teased from across the boat, pretending to be disgusted. Suki reached down and kicked off her flip flop, then threw it at her. It smacked her in the face and fell in her lap, and she yelped in surprise. Sokka turned to Suki and burst out laughing.

“Nice one Kee!” Zuko said, instinctively turning away from Katara, as if he knew she would smack him. Sure enough, Sokka watched as his sister grabbed the shoe and slapped it against his arm, laughing. Zuko snatched it from her hands and tossed it back to Suki and Katara pouted. Zuko sighed and tossed his arm around her, and she smiled and snuggled into his embrace. Sokka smiled as he watched them, thinking to himself that maybe all hope wasn’t lost.

“Look who’s gross now.” Suki teased, crossing her arms. Katara shot her a glare and she giggled.

A few minutes later the counselors realized they had crossed the lake, and found a small beach like the one on the campground, so they docked and got off the boat, setting their towels in the sand. Suki said she wasn’t quite ready to swim yet, so she and Katara headed off to a dock they found. Sokka, Zuko, Toph, Aang and a few other counselors headed into the water, swimming around in the shallower area. Zuko reached over and nudged Sokka’s shoulder, gesturing towards Tomi and Mai, who sat together on the beach.

“The rumor starters are at it again.” Zuko teased. Sokka chuckled.

“I wonder what’s up with them?” Sokka said, glancing over at them.

“I wonder if he knows Mai’s taken.” Zuko said flatly.

“Would you two cut it out?” Toph interjected. “If I wanted to spend the day gossiping I would’ve hung out with Suki and Katara.”    
  
“Hey!” Sokka and Zuko said in unison, as Aang laughed.

“Why let our girls have all the fun gossiping?” Zuko teased.    
  
“Yeah Toph, aren’t we allowed to talk?” Sokka chimed in. Toph rolled her eyes and dove under the water, swimming away from them. Sokka glanced at Zuko, who was frowning in the general direction of Katara. “You ok?” he asked his friend.

“No.” Zuko sighed. “I think Katara heard about the rumors before I got to tell her. She’s barely spoken to me except on the boat earlier, and actually I don’t think her hitting me with a flip flop really counts.” He said. Sokka held in a laugh at the last part, because despite how upset he could tell Zuko was, he had to admit Katara smacking him was funny.

“Suki said they talked and set the record straight.” Sokka offered. Zuko didn’t look convinced. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, but I’m going to give you the same advice you gave me.” Sokka started. “Talk. To. Her.”    
  
“I know, I know.” Zuko replied. Both of them turned back towards the shore. “I’m gonna take a break.” Zuko said, running a hand through his now wet hair. Sokka nodded.

“I’ll come with.”   
  
***   
  
Suki watched as Sokka and Zuko made their way out of the water and to their towels. Now was the perfect opportunity to get Katara to confront Zuko, she knew it.

“So…” She said, trying to ease into the subject. “Have you talked to Zuko yet?” Katara buried her face in her hands.

“No.” She said sheepishly.

“Why not?” Suki asked. Katara looked back up.

“Because how am I supposed to start a conversation like this?!” She whined.

“How about ‘hey Zuko, let’s talk?’ That seems good to me.” Suki replied. Katara’s face lit up.   
  
“Since you’re so good at this, why don’t you do it for me?” She asked, smiling widely at her friend. Suki’s face fell and she rolled her eyes.

“Katara. I’m part of the reason you’re in this mess. I don’t think it’s a good idea for  _ me  _ to talk to Zuko about this. Me talking to Zuko too much is what got us here in the first place.” Suki countered. Katara frowned.

“I hate when you’re right.” She replied.

“Love you too. Now go.” Suki said,waving her off. Katara stood up, headed over to Zuko, and sure enough just a moment later they walked down the beach, lost in conversation. Suki stood up and watched them closely. Almost ten minutes passed when they finally stopped, and Suki cheered to herself as Katara reached up and kissed Zuko.

“Oh thank god they did it.” A voice behind her teased as a set of familiar arms wrapped around her waist.

“Jesus Sokka, you scared me!” She exclaimed as he reached down and kissed her cheek. “How long have you been standing there?”   
  
“Since Zuko walked off with my sister. You were so focused on them you didn’t even see me get up.” He said, resting his chin on her shoulder. Suki smiled to herself as they stood on the dock, watching Zuko and Katara walk back towards the group, hand in hand this time, laughing about something.

A few hours passed, and the sun started to make its way back to the horizon as the counselors swam and hung out on the beach. Suki sat with Sokka, Zuko and Katara in the sand chatting, when suddenly she remembered what Katara had said that morning.

“Katara, when you told me what you’d heard you said that ‘he’ told you. Who’s he?” Suki asked, glancing over at her friend.

“Does it matter?” Katara asked, clearly nervous. Zuko tucked his arm around her waist and drew her in close.

“Yes.” Suki replied. “I heard about it from Mai, who said she had only talked about it with Tomi. Did Tomi tell you?” She pressed on.

“Suki…” Sokka said softly, but she raised a finger to his lips, cutting him off.

  
“No, it wasn’t Tomi.” Katara said. “It was Geshu.” She continued, much quieter. Heat rose to Suki’s cheeks and her fists clenched.

“Of course it was.” She said, standing up and walking away to find him, before any of them could stop her. Sokka followed closely behind her, and Zuko and Katara trailed behind him. She approached him, and slipped into the group of guys he was talking to.

“Sorry boys, can I borrow him for a second?” She asked calmly, resting a hand on Geshu’s arm. They nodded and Suki practically yanked him from the group.   
  
“Hey Su-” He started, smiling.

“Why did you tell Katara I was cheating on Sokka with Zuko?!” Suki demanded, furious at this point. 

“Because Tomi and Mai said you were.” He replied flatly. Suki bit her tongue to stop herself from yelling his ear off, and looked over her shoulder at Katara.

“Grab Tomi and Mai for me. I think the seven of us need to have a little chat.” She said, her voice cold as ice. Suki slowly turned back towards her friends and she saw Katara standing just a step behind her with her arms crossed and her face cold, and Sokka and Zuko standing there dumbfounded. Katara nodded and headed off to find Tomi and Mai, and Suki then realized she was still gripping Geshu’s arm, and dropped her hand. Sokka placed his hand on the small of Suki’s back, and she felt her shoulders relax with his touch.

“I love the enthusiasm.” He said softly. “But maybe try and be a little less threatening?”    
  
“You’re right.” Suki sighed, and he rubbed her back softly. “I just really want to get to the bottom of this.”   
  
“Me too.” He replied. Katara came back with Tomi and Mai in tow, and went and rejoined Zuko on the outside of the group. He murmured something to her nobody else could hear, and she smiled slightly and took his hand.   
  
“So. You two said you didn’t tell anyone but each other about your suspicions about Zuko and I.” Suki accused. “Care to explain why Geshu says he heard it from you?”    
  
“We didn’t tell anyone, honestly.” Tomi said.   
  
“Yeah Suki, I meant what I said this morning in the art room. I didn’t tell anyone because I was hoping Tomi and I were wrong.” Mai continued. Suki nodded and turned towards Geshu, whose face was now flushed from embarrassment.

“Tomi and Mai didn’t exactly tell me.” He said sheepishly. The rest of the group groaned. “I heard them on the beach last night and.... I was still mad at you for what happened that night on the poarch that I…”   
  
“Told my best friend I was cheating on her brother with her boyfriend.” Suki finished. The group groaned once more, and Suki glared at him. “That’s pretty low, Geshu.”   
  
“I know.” He said. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for trying to sabotage you and Sokka-” He said, looking at Suki and Sokka. “I’m sorry for meddling in your business Katara, and Zuko for that matter, and I’m sorry for eavesdropping on you two.” He said, looking at each member of the group as he apologized. The six of them all said various forgiving statements, and Suki took a step closer to Geshu.   
  
“Next time you hear something about me- even to sabotage me- don’t go to my best friend about it.” She said to him. He apologized once more and she turned back towards the group.

Not long after they settled everything, the older counselors announced it was time to head back to camp, and everyone grabbed their things and loaded back onto the boat. Suki sat next to Sokka again, and almost immediately rested her head on his shoulder. Sokka looked down at her.   
  
“Are you ok?” He asked, the concern in his voice coming through.

“Yeah, just tired.” Suki replied honestly. Sokka rested his head on top of hers and took her hand, lacing her fingers through hers and rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. Suki looked down at their hands and smiled, before glancing back up at the other counselors. She noticed Zuko touching the large burn on his face, and Katara must’ve noticed the same thing, because she immediately stopped talking to Aang, who sat on the other side of her, and turned to Zuko.

“Did something happen? Does it hurt?” She asked him.

“No, no it’s fine.” Zuko replied. Katara reached up and touched it gently.

“Good.” She said softly. Zuko smiled that ridiculous smile he saved for Katara, and Suki smiled to herself as she followed the interaction.

Once they arrived back at camp, the counselors decided to have a bonfire to round out the day. They gathered around the large bonfire pit and one of the older counselors quickly got the fire started. 

“Aw shit.” Sokka groaned once they sat down. Suki shot him a confused glance. “I left my hair tie on the beach across the lake.” He admitted sheepishly. Suki giggled and reached up and ran her fingers through his hair.

“Good. I like it better down anyway.” She teased. He rolled his eyes.

“Well I don’t.” He grumbled. Suki sighed and took the green scrunchie she had put around her wrist that morning off and stretched it between her fingers like a slingshot, then sent it flying. It hit his chest and bounced into his lap and his eyes lit up as he grabbed it.

“Thanks babe.” He said, smiling at her as he tied his hair out of his face. Once he was finished he reached over and kissed her on the cheek and she felt her face flush as she smiled.

***   
  
The rest of the night passed smoothly, as if it were the calm before the storm. The next morning, Sokka woke up in anticipation for his new campers. Yesterday had been plenty of fun, but Sokka absolutely loved working with the kids, and was surprised at how much he missed having them around.

Sokka checked to make sure Aang was awake, before moving around to get himself ready for the day. Since it was the first day, he decided to wear one of his official camp shirts, which he put on with a pair of black shorts and sneakers. He tied his hair back and tied his blue bandana from the color war around his head. He grabbed his folder with his cabin assignments and glanced around the room to ensure he hadn't forgotten anything. His eye caught Suki’s scrunchie that sat on his nightstand, and he picked it up and slid it, adding it to the stack or bracelets on his wrist. He turned and headed out the door, Aang trailing behind him, and they made their way to the main lodge, where the other counselors and cits had already begun to gather, chatting excitedly about the incoming second session. 

“Nice outfit.” Suki teased from behind him. Sokka turned towards her, to find that she was wearing the exact same outfit, but with a green bandana. 

“Thanks, but it’s cuter on you.” He replied. Suki’s cheeks went pink and he chuckled.

“Awww you match!” Katara shrieked, approaching them. “This is so cute. Let me get a picture, Mom’s going to love this.” She gushed, whipping out her cell phone. Sokka rolled his eyes.

“You don’t mind, do you?” He asked Suki.

“Of course not! It’s cute.” Suki replied, wrapping her arms around him. They smiled as Katara took the photo, and Suki went over to her to make sure they turned out okay.

“You guys are adorable.” Katara said as they scrolled through the photos.

“Hey, can you send me that?” Suki asked once they picked their favorites. She looked at Sokka and winked. “My mom’s going to love this too.”

Soon the new campers arrived, and Sokka found himself back in his cabin watching his campers unpack and get to know each other.    
  
“Alright guys let’s wrap it up and get ready for the game!” He called out to the noisy cabin. His campers fell in line by the door, and he took them out to the same field he took his previous campers to four weeks ago, to play a game against their sister cabin. 

Night had fallen, and the counselors gathered on the beach. Tomi had found a pack of sparklers in the lodge, so he and Haru began lighting them and messing around with them. Some of the other counselors began to take some, and he noticed Zuko looking wairy at the sparks. He had always been nervous around smaller fires, like sparklers and cooking stoves, due to his scar. Katara was the only person outside of his family who knew what really happened to Zuko, but everyone knew he had been burned somehow. Sokka watched Katara take two of the sparklers from Tomi and walk over to Zuko, and offer him one. He took it cautiously, holding it away from his face, and smiled at her. Sokka turned away from them and looked for Suki, who he hadn’t seen all night. He found her on the edge of the dock, sitting and looking up into the sky. He got two sparklers from Haru and went to go talk to her.

“Hey.” He said as he approached her. She turned and got up from her spot.

“Hey.” She replied, smiling softly. Sokka offered her a sparkler and she took it, staring into the sparks. They didn’t speak for a moment, and Sokka caught Suki looking over at him, almost wistfully.

“What’s wrong?” He asked softly. Suki didn’t reply, she simply reached over and tucked herself under his arm, holding her sparkler away from them. “Suki…”   
  
“I’m fine, Sokka I just…” She started looking at him. “I just needed to be in your arms.” She admitted softly. Sokka chuckled.

“Even if it’s a fire hazard?” He teased.

“Especially then.” She joked, laughed.

Silence fell over them once more, and Sokka glanced over at him. She was slipping away, both of them were. They were a ticking clock running short, and neither of them knew how to stop it.

The best they could do is hope that time slowed down, even just a bit.


	12. Love You Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello loves !! today’s chapter is inspired by the one direction song love you goodbye from their album midnight memories (personal fav hehe) so if you know what that means im so sorry and if you don’t- check it out it’s a great song- and im still sorry :’) hope you all enjoy, lmk your thoughts and uh try not to get violent on me :p love you !!

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Sokka and Suki spent as much time as they could together, but the end was in sight. Today was the day of the second color war, tomorrow would be the dance, then the campers would leave, then the counselors would leave. In less than a week, Sokka would be miles away instead of minutes, and Suki still had no idea what to do about it. 

It felt wrong to ask his little sister if she should dump Sokka or not, so she couldn’t go to Katara, and Zuko would be no help, so she found herself seeking out Mai the morning of the color war. Things had been rocky between them since the beach day a few weeks ago, but eventually they had come around. Suki found Mai sitting on her cabin’s porch that morning, waiting for her campers to wake up and get ready.   
  
“Hey.” Suki said, approaching the cabin. “Can I get your advice on something?”   
  
“Of course.” Mai replied, shifting over on the bench she sat in and indicating for Suki to take a seat.

“It’s about Sokka.” She started. “Summer’s almost over and… I don’t know if that means we should be over too. Part of me thinks that maybe we can handle it, but I don’t want things to fall apart in like two weeks, you know?” She rambled nervously. Mai nodded and contemplated what to say next.

“It sounds like you really care about him, but you’re worried.” She noted. Suki nodded. “You know, we’re all so young, I think if you think you need to break it off, you should. It’s not like you’ll never see him again, you guys hung out during the school years anyway, and there’s always next summer.” Next summer. The thought of them trying again had never occurred to Suki, and it made her feel better knowing that there was more time, even if it wasn’t right now.

“Thanks Mai.” Suki said, standing up. Their campers would be waking up soon, so she had to get back to her cabin.

“Anytime, Suki.” Mai replied softly. Suki smiled at her once more before returning to her cabin to get ready for the day. Once she was ready, she waited out on the porch for her campers to be ready for the day. Sokka looked through his front window at one point and waved, and she waved back, smiling. Even if they only had a few more days here, she intended on making the most of them.

The rest of the day was open activity time, and she had been assigned to do free swim with Zuko’s cabin again. She sat on the dock, looking out on the water, and hardly noticed when Zuko approached her and sat down.

“You look down, Kee.” he said as he took the seat next to her. She looked over at him and his eyes filled with concern. “What’s up?”   
  
“I’m just a little bummed about summer ending, you know?” She replied.    
  
“Oh come on! The color war and the dance are like, your favorite nights of camp! Don’t spend your favorite nights of camp moping on me.” He protested. She sighed.

“You’re right.” She said, defeated.

“I know what’ll make you feel better…” He said in a sing songy voice. Suki glared at him.

“Zuko if you throw me into the water again, I’ll kill you.” She said flatly. His eyes widened.

“I was going to make a joke about magically transforming into Sokka, relax!” He replied. Suki rolled her eyes.    
  
“You don’t have to be Sokka to make me feel better, Z.” She said, smiling. “You make me pretty happy just being yourself.” Zuko smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned over so her head rested on his shoulder.

“Thanks Kee. You make me pretty happy too.”

The rest of the day passed, and Suki felt a lot better after talking with Zuko on the dock, so soon enough she was back to her regular peppy attitude as she got ready for the color war. She had changed into the green shirt she had made the day before and various green accessories she had bought at the store when buying supplies to decorate her cabin for the second session, and now sat on her bed, holding a mirror and putting green face paint on. 

Once her cabin was ready, they headed down to the large field and met with the other green cabins, and Suki found herself talking to Tomi as they waited for the other teams to arrive. She saw Sokka’s cabin arrive, and he waved to her immediately, and they met in the middle of the two teams, as they had last time.

“Hey!” He said as she approached.    
  
“Hey!” She replied. He was decked out in blue, which was personally her favorite color on him. It made his eyes look brighter.

“How was your day?” He asked, taking her hand. She glanced at their interlocked fingers and smiled. It was something so small, but Sokka always took her hand, and it always made butterflies go off in her stomach.   
  
“Pretty good.” She replied. “I missed you, though.” She said lightly. She hadn’t seen him all day somehow, so there was truth in her words.

“I missed you too.” He replied, leaning down and kissing her. She stood up on her tip toes and brought her hand to his cheek as he wrapped an arm around her waist. 

“Good luck tonight.” She said as they pulled apart.

“You too.” He replied, smiling. She reached over and kissed his cheek, then picked his hand back up and gave it a squeeze.

“I should get back to my team. See you after?” She asked. He nodded in response, smiling. “Love you.”   
  
“Love you too.” He replied. With that, they parted ways and headed back to their respective teams. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Katara and Zuko splitting off to their respective teams, and mouthed ‘good luck’ Zuko’s way, which he returned.

The game kicked off but a few moments later, and the green team was determined to get revenge on the blue team for last session, but yellow quickly gained the lead by taking red’s flag. Tomi volunteered to go in for the double steal, and taking two campers with him they set off. 

Over an hour and several rounds of stealing and stealing back later, the only flag left was blue, and green had the other three. They decided to send Suki in and one of the campers got the flag. They set off towards the blue area, and of course Sokka was standing guard. Suki pulled the camper off to the side and crouched behind a bush to conceal them from the opposing team.

“I’ll distract Sokka, you dive in and grab the flag. Once you have it, run as fast as possible to end the game.” She whispered. The kid nodded.

“Are you sure you can take him? He’s a pretty good guard.” He noted. Suki smirked.

“I can handle Sokka. Just trust me kiddo.” She replied. The kid nodded once more and they high fived before sneaking out of their hiding space. Suki watched as he approached the flag, then sprung into action.

In a moment of panic, she ended up tackling him like she had during that game of manhunt during the first session, and he groaned as she pinned him to the ground.

“I thought we were past this, babe.” He said as she pushed his arm into his back.   
  
“Desperate times, desperate measures.” Suki replied. She saw the camper dash past her clutching the green flag and let Sokka up and helped him to his feet. She reached up and kissed him as a thank you, before running back to her cheering team. Tomi immediately pulled her into his embrace as she met up with the other green cabins.

“You did it! You kicked his ass for us!” He yelled. Suki laughed as he set her down, and they were pulled into the big huddle. Once they pulled apart, she looked around for Sokka. He hung back from where the green team gathered, smiling and waiting for her.

“Sorry for tackling you again.” She said sheepishly as she approached. Sokka laughed and swept her up into his embrace, picking her up just slightly, and Suki sighed in comfort at the feeling of being in those arms that always felt like home. 

After the game, they gathered for the big bonfire, and Suki sat between Sokka and Zuko, with Katara on Zuko’s other side. Sokka had an arm wrapped around Suki’s shoulder, and at some point she had reached up and started absentmindedly playing with the bracelets on his wrist. She noticed a hand made green and blue one and nearly gasped out loud. She had made him that friendship bracelet years ago, and she was surprised to find he still had his.   
  


“You kept this?” She asked, nudging him softly and pointing to it.

“Of course I kept it. I’ve worn it for years.” He replied softly. Suki smiled sheepishly then dug out the matching one from her own set of bracelets. 

“Wow, how sentimental of us.” Sokka said, smiling and reaching over to kiss the top of her head. Suki rested her head over on his shoulder and stared into the fire, trying not to think about anything but that night.

***   
  
The next day was the day of the dance, and he and Suki got to spend the day together. They had one last day of free time in the arts and crafts cabin with their kids, which so far was going fairly smoothly. The kids sat mixed between the tables of the room, and Sokka, Suki, Ty Lee and Aang sat at the slightly raised counter in the front of the room, talking and working on projects, helping kids as they asked. Sokka was taking the time to paint a landscape of the beach, and Suki was working intently on a bracelet.   
  
“You still like making those things?” Sokka teased. 

“After I noticed it last night, I figured the blue and green one was going to wear out soon, so I might need to replace it.” She replied, not even looking up.

“Ouch, Suki. Replacement?” Sokka said in mock offense. Suki looked up at him and rolled her eyes.

“Not mine,” She said, tying off the end of the string and reaching over and tugging on a new, lighter blue and green bracelet that was freshly tied around her wrist. “ _ Yours. _ ”

“Oh.” He said, smiling. She grabbed his wrist and fit the new bracelet around it, tying it so he could slip it on and off as he needed, just like she had years ago. He watched her as she tied the careful knot, biting her lip in concentration.

“There.” She said, looking up at him and giving his wrist a little squeeze as she finished. Their eyes locked, and everything froze. They sat there for what felt like ages, her delicate hands still holding his outstretched arm, lost in each other’s eyes, until a camper pulled her attention away. Suki turned to talk to the girl who approached her, and Sokka couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from her as she spoke to the camper.

“What?” She asked, turning back and noticing him. He shook his head and looked away.   
  
“Nothing, sorry.” He replied.

“Don’t apologize, I know I’m hot.” She teased. Sokka smirked and used his foot to jokingly pull her stool closer to his, and Ty Lee and Aang yelled as they saw what was happening. Suki and Sokka glanced at each other and burst out laughing.

A few hours later, Sokka picked Suki up at her cabin for setup. They had the second shift together, following Zuko and Katara. They made their way to the lodge hand in hand, not saying much. Once they were inside, they met up with Zuko and Katara, who were to tell them what to do. For the sake of being efficient they decided to split up, and have Sokka go with Katara to one side of the room, and Suki with Zuko to the other

“You don’t have to do anything with ladders, so you shouldn’t have to worry about falling again, Kee.” Zuko teased, laughing. Sokka watched them as Suki reached over and smacked him on the shoulder.

“It’s not like you’d be here to catch me anyway, Z.” She joked.    
  


“And you’ll find- hey, are you even listening?!” Katara said, causing Sokka to snap his attention back to his side of the room. Katara shot him a glance. “Don’t tell me you're jealous.”   
  
“I’m not jealous, jeez Katara!” He replied. “I’m just really going to miss seeing both of them every day, and it’s been hitting at weird times.” Her face softened and she reached over and rested a hand on his shoulder.   
  
“I know it’s sad, but please don’t spend the last few days around here moping.” She said. “Zuko will be around plenty and....” She paused and glanced over at Suki, who had moved on from bickering with Zuko and was blowing up some balloons. “Well you’ll always have me.” 

“Thanks, Katara.” He said, softly. His heart felt heavy at the idea that even she couldn’t get a read on what would happen to them. Katara smiled at him once more before turning to Zuko and asking if he was ready to go. After reaching over and flicking the balloon Suki was attempting to tie off- which earned him an elbow in the gut- Zuko took Katara’s hand and left the lodge. Katara had left Sokka to organize the drinks, so he worked on that for the rest of their shift, lost in thought.

Once their shift was over, they tagged out Tomi and Mai, then walked back to their cabins, hands interlocked and chatting about nothing in particular. They split ways between the two cabins, and Sokka headed into the fray of boys getting ready for the dance. He slid on some black dress shorts and an emerald green button up, took his hair out of it’s normal ponytail and brushed it, then slid on his black vans and was ready for the night ahead.

When he stepped out of his cabin and down the porch steps onto ground level, his eyes immediately caught Suki leaning against her porch railing and talking to Katara. She wore a royal blue dress this time with white vans, and her hair was curled. 

“You,” He said, approaching her and looking her up and down completely. “Look breathtaking.”   
  
“Stop it.” She said, smiling uncontrollably and she stepped down to meet him. He placed a hand on her waist and pulled her in for a quick kiss, and she rested a hand on his cheek.   
  
“I’m serious, Suki.” He said, once they pulled apart. Her face flushed and he laughed.

“Well you look fantastic as well.” She said, reaching up to adjust his collar. “I know I said this about the blue, but I love this color on you.” She noted. Now it was his turn to go rosy cheeked, and Suki snickered as his face flushed. 

They soon were at the dance, and the party was in full swing. The campers had much more energy than the first session, and the room was practically shaking due to them bouncing around to the music. The counselors were equally as excited if not more, because it was their last big hoorah with campers for the whole summer. About an hour in the music was turned down and the head of camp took the stage to acknowledge the counselors who had graduated in the past school year, indicating that it was their last summer as counselors. Sokka stood with his arms around Suki’s waist, the back of her head resting on his chest and her arms resting on top of his as they watched the seniors get recognized, and they both cheered extra loud when Tomi’s name was called. As the recognition went on, Sokka couldn’t help but think about how that would be them next summer. The thought of it scared him a little, because for as uncertain as he felt right now, he couldn’t begin to imagine where he would be in a year.

After the recognition, he and Suki stepped off to the side to have a drink, when the music changed to a slow song. Suki’s face fell and Sokka practically choked on his drink as he burst out laughing. Zuko appeared seconds later, offering his hand to Suki, who wordlessly set her drink down and turned to him.

“Come on Kee, it’s our song.” He teased. She placed her hand in his and looked between Zuko’s golden eyes and Sokka’s blue ones.

“Be back soon.” She said softly to Sokka. He smiled and nodded, before Zuko carefully led her to the dance floor. He watched them for a few seconds, as they took their place and began to sway back and forth, talking and feeling the music. As he watched, someone appeared next to him.   
  
“Hey.” The mystery guest said to him. “Wanna dance?”    
  
“Mai?” He said in surprise as he turned towards her.    
  
“I know we’re not the closest, but you look lonely staring at your girlfriend whos’ taking a trip down memory lane with her eighth grade crush turned best friend.” She said. Sokka laughed, that was more the Mai he knew. 

“You know what, why not.” He said, offering his hand to her. She took it and they headed for the dance floor. Mai immediately placed her arms on his shoulders and he lightly rested his around her waist.   
  
“Relax Sokka, I won’t bite.” She joked. Sokka laughed and for good measure released some of the tension in his shoulders.   
  
“You look good tonight, Mai. I like that dress.” He said. She had chosen a light pink dress, which wasn’t her normal type of outfit, but she looked good in it.   
  
“Thanks, it was your sister’s idea.” She replied, chuckling. “And you look good too. I see I’m not the only one wearing a color that is not their go to.” Now it was his turn to chuckle. 

The song ended, and Suki came back over to Sokka, Katara rejoined Zuko, and Tomi even came over to rejoin Mai. They spent the rest of the night dancing as a group, with the exception of the last solo song, where they split up. Sokka and Suki didn’t speak much during their slow dance, and Sokka felt his heart ache as he realized what was going to happen to them.

The dance soon ended, and everyone headed back for their cabins to drop off their kids, before the counselors met on the beach. They milled around and talked amongst themselves, while the last year counselors went down to the end of the dock to do their last tradition, what they called the senior plunge. The other counselors laughed as they swam around fully clothed, and once they were out of the water the group pretty much split up to head to bed. Sokka and Suki wordlessly went down the beach, and stood in silence for a few moments before Sokka gave in to what was coming.

“It’s over, isn’t it.” He said softly. Suki wrapped her arms around herself and looked away.   
  
“I was going to wait to bring it up but…” She said, glancing back at him. “I just don’t think we can do it, Sokka. I don’t think I can.”   
  
“Me either.” He said. Her eyes welled up with tears and his heart shattered. “I’ve had the best summer being with you but you’re right, once we’re off camp grounds, it's just too hard.” He rationalized. Tears spilled over, and he had to force himself not to pull her into his embrace right then and there.   
  
“It’s just so stupid.” She said, wiping away her tears. “I love you and know I can trust you I just..”   
  
“Hey, hey-” He said, choking back tears of his own. “This is a mutual agreement, no hard feelings.” Sokka looked down and watched as she reached over and tugged on the bracelet she had made him that very morning.   
  
“I’m never going to forget this. Any of it.” She said. “And I’m still your friend Sokka. I’ll always be your friend.”   
  
“Friends don’t typically almost get caught having fallen asleep together on the beach because they were up too late making out.” Sokka teased, looking back up at her.

“How are we joking around during our breakup?” She asked, her eyes meeting his. He shrugged and she laughed lightly.   
  
“I guess that means we can handle it.” He offered. She sighed, and they fell silent for a few moments.

“Walk me home?” She asked, breaking the silence.

“Of course.” He replied softly. Without another word, they turned and made their way to the cabins, Suki’s arms still wrapped around herself and Sokka’s hanging limp at his sides. Both of their hearts ached that night, and suddenly Sokka couldn’t wait to be home. He’d miss Suki and camp like crazy, but he knew it would be hard to face her for the next two days.

***

The next morning, Suki watched as her cabin got ready to leave. She helped their girls pack their things, consoled those who were crying and upset, and did damage control on the post dance drama related fights, and by the time they were waiting outside for their parents to arrive, she was exhausted. She talked with Mai as they waited for the campers to leave, doing her best to avoid Sokka. Technically speaking,they said that once they left camp it was over, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to make it any harder by pushing something on the last day. 

The campers were surprisingly more calm then they had been during the first session, though Suki did have to calm down a few crying campers. At one point she looked up and caught Sokka looking at her from his porch. Their eyes met and he smiled at her, and she returned it. He gestured for her to join him, so she made her way up the steps.

“You ok?” He asked softly, looking over at her as she took a spot next to him.

“I’m sad to see them go.” She replied honestly.   
  
“Me too.” he replied. Neither of them spoke for a moment, and Suki looked out over the camp at her friends. Mai was talking with Azula and Ty Lee, Tomi was with the group of last year counselors, Haru and Geshu stood with Alima, that girl Katara was talking with that morning the rumors broke out, Toph and Aang were laughing loudly about something, Katara stood with Zuko’s arm around her, looking up at him, and then there was them. Suki and Sokka, as it always had been, and yet so much had changed. She looked over at him and he looked back, then wordlessly offered her his hand. She took it, lacing her fingers through his and they stood there, hand in hand, watching the last of the campers leave.

Cleanup was fairly easy, Suki was in charge of the cafeteria with Katara. They talked about their plans for the year ahead as they worked, wiping down the tables and setting all but a few of them- just enough for the counselors to have a last few meals together- against the walls, then mopping the floor. As time passed they grew more and more silent, until they finished and met back up with the other counselors.

Unfortunately, Zuko and Azula had a family trip they had to leave early for, so they were to bid their goodbyes that afternoon instead of the next morning like the rest of them. Suki and the other counselors stood on the lodge steps as they approached with their bags, waiting to say their individual goodbyes. Azula went first, not taking very long except with Mai, her counselor, an oddly enough Ty Lee. Suki must’ve missed something there while she was busy focusing on herself, because she had no idea the two were even friends. Next up was Zuko, who went down the line, taking a little longer. People peeled off once their turn was over, and headed to the cabins to get ready for whatever they were going to do to fill the rest of the day.

“Take care buddy.” Zuko said to Sokka. Sokka pulled him into his embrace.   
  
“See you soon.” Sokka replied as they separated, smiling. He turned to Katara next, who practically yanked him by the collar and kissed him.

“Keep me updated on the trip.” She said.

“I will.” He replied. “I love you, and I’ll see you when I get home.”    
  
“I love you too.” She replied, smiling. He hugged her one last time, then kissed the top of her head, then she and Sokka stepped a few yards away to give them some space. Zuko stepped in front of Suki, and suddenly it was just them.

“How are things?” He asked, glancing back at Sokka and Katara. She shook her head.

“It’s over.” She replied, shrugging. He sighed and pulled her into his embrace.

“I’m sorry Kee.” He said as they hugged.

“It’s for the best. And there’s always next summer.” She said. 

“Well if you need anything, let me know.” He said as they pulled apart. Tears welled in her eyes and she nodded. “Try and have some fun tonight.” He said, his face full of concern.

“Ay ay, capitan.” She teased. Zuko laughed and pulled her into another hug, before saying his final goodbyes, and climbing into his parents’ car with Azula. Suki watched the car pull away, and Sokka and Katara rejoined her to wave. Once the car was down the path, Suki looked over at Katara, who looked upset despite not having let any tears slip, and pulled her into her embrace. Suki glanced up at Sokka as she held Katara, and gestured for him to join, and the three of them stood in silence, feeling just a little incomplete without their fourth.

The emotions of the day wore off, and by dinner everyone was smiling and laughing again. Katara, Suki and Sokka spent a lot of time together, and that night the three of them sat with Toph and Aang at the final bonfire. Soon enough everyone had gone to bed, and Suki and Sokka found themselves walking back to the cabins together. They stopped on his porch, staring up into the night.

“This has been like, the best summer ever.” Sokka said, smiling.    
  
“Agreed.” Suki replied, smiling back. Slowly, Sokka leaned over and kissed her, and all of her worries, all of the sadness she felt about leaving melted away. They pulled apart, and Sokka looked right down at her.

“Suki I-” He started, before she cut him off with another kiss. That was all he needed to hear, because soon enough his hands were pulling her waist in the door, and hers were tangled up in his hair.

***

The next morning, Sokka woke up to find Suki laying next to him again, although this time they were in his bed. He looked down at her sleeping away and sighed. In a few hours they’d be leaving, and he wished he could stop time and sit here with her clinging to him forever. He slowly sat up and got out of the bed, trying not to disturb her, and surveyed the cabin. He had cleaned out the leftover stuff from the campers yesterday, so all that was left was his and Aang’s stuff. Aang and the other guy cits decided to spend the night together in another cabin, thank goodness, so he and Suki were alone. He was still in his shorts from yesterday, and quickly located his discarded t shirt, then began to look through his drawers for something to wear today. As he was looking around, he heard Suki sit up and yawn, and he turned to face her.

“Good morning.” He said, smiling at her. She was wearing only her shorts and sports bra from yesterday, so she hugged his pillow against her chest to cover up, presumably in case Aang came back.

“Good morning.” She replied. Sokka went back over to the bed and sat down next to her, and she kissed him softly. “How are you?” She asked.

“I’m alright. Pretty tired from the lack of sleep…” He said, chuckling. “I’m sad about leaving though.”    
  
“Me too.” She said, looking down into her lap. Sokka reached over and rested a hand on her leg.

“I’m  _ really  _ going to miss you, Suki.” He said.

“I’m going to miss you too, Sokka.” She replied. “But I’m still one call away and… and there’s always next summer.”  _ Next summer.  _ He’d hardly given it any thought, but it gave him some hope.   
  
“Yeah, you’re right.” He said, standing up and going back over to the dresser. He slid on a t shirt as she stood up and began to collect herself.

“Shit.” She said, standing up. “I can’t find my shirt.” She said. Sokka reached into his drawer and pulled out an old, soft blue t shirt from his travel baseball team and tossed it to her.

“Here, wear this to get back to your cabin, I’ll look for yours while I pack and give it to you before we leave.” He said. Suki pulled it over her head and smiled. Considering how much taller he was than her it was way too big for her, covering her shorts completely and reaching her mid thighs, but to him it looked perfect.

“You’re the best.” She said, walking over and kissing him on the cheek before quickly heading out the door and across the way to her cabin before anyone noticed she hadn’t been there all night. Sokka watched her slip back in her own cabin, then turned back to the task at hand. He quickly packed up his things and eventually found Suki’s shirt under his bed, and laughed to himself as he picked it up and set it aside. Once he was finished, he took the shirt over to her cabin, and she was nowhere to be found so he left it on the bed next to her bags.

Soon enough, it was time to say their goodbyes. Almost everyone’s parents were lined in the camp driveway, and the counselors milled around saying their goodbyes. Sokka went around and said special goodbyes to Aang, Ty Lee, Mai, Tomi, and even Geshu, then finally, standing apart from the crowd was Suki. He went over to her and she took his hands. 

“Hey. Thank you for the best summer ever.” She said for the millionth time. Sokka smiled.

“Thank you.” He said. “I love you, Suki. Don’t be a total stranger.”    
  
“I love you too. And I won’t.” She replied. He leaned down, and for one last time he drew her lips to his. Once they pulled apart, He took her hand, and they headed for the line of cars. He waved to her mom as they approached her car, she gave him one last hug before climbing in, and it was over. He walked back over to his bag, grabbed his things and got in his own family’s car, where his parents and Katara waited for him.

Once he was back home, Sokka headed straight for his room and set his bags down. He looked around as he set his bags down on the floor, and his eye caught the photo of him and Suki from the summer before and he couldn’t help but let the tears he felt as if he had been holding back forever spill over. He already missed her like crazy, and he already felt ridiculous for letting everything go so easily, without even trying. 

“Sokka?” Katara asked, softly knocking on the door. He quickly wiped away the stray tears and pretended to work on unpacking.

“Come in.” He said, trying to act nonchalant. Katara stepped in and he turned to face her. “What’s up?”   
  
“Why are you crying?” She asked, looking at him intently. “Oh no… did you and-”   
  
“Yeah. We decided to break it off once we left camp after the dance.” He replied, sighing. Katara’s mouth fell open.

“After the dance?! And you’re just now telling me?” She said. Sokka’s face fell and Katara reached over and hugged him. “I’m sorry Sokka.”   
  
“I’ll be ok.” He replied once they pulled apart.

“Well I guess now my super early birthday gift is a little shitty.” She muttered, pulling an envelope out of her back pocket. “They’re pictures of you and Suki for your wall. Things I captured all summer. I kinda didn’t see this happening and thought it might make long distance a little easier, sorry.” She said sheepishly, handing it to him.

“Thanks sis.” He replied, taking it.

“If they hurt too much to hang up or whatever, I won’t be offended.” She said. Sokka chuckled.

“No, they’re a nice reminder of the good times. Seriously, thank you.” He said, smiling at her. She smiled back, then left him alone to unpack and look over them. He sat down on his bed and opened the pictures, smiling at the snapshots of the summer they’d had. Katara had been sneaky with her camera, capturing the smallest of moments, and Sokka was thankful to have a nosy little sister like her. 

The stuffed the pictures back in the envelope and set it on his nightstand, not quite ready to hang them up quite yet. 


	13. Back For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello loves !! i hope you all had a happy holidays and happy 2021 ! sorry for yet another long break, i promise this story is almost complete so you won’t have to wait for me to update for much longer :) good news ! today’s chapter is named after the one direction song back for you ! hope you all enjoy and lmk your thoughts as always <33 ps: happy early birthday sofi, this one’s for you <33

It had been about a week since she got home, and Suki was doing ok, but definitely not the best. Her first night home she hung out with her friends, and everybody wanted to hear about her and Sokka. Her friends had met Sokka a couple times over the years, and of course heard tons about him, but it still felt weird to talk about it like he was just another ex boyfriend when he was so much more in her heart.

She sat on her bed for the millionth time that week, mindlessly watching a movie on her computer. It was just her and her mom, who had left on a business trip that very morning, so Suki had the house to herself. She wore Sokka’s t shirt, the one she had borrowed that morning in his cabin and never gave back, although she’d come to consider it as payback for never giving her back that scrunchie. Her mind wandered from the movie and back to camp, and she suddenly remembered the envelope Katara had given her just before they left. She hadn’t unpacked her backpack fully, so she grabbed it and dug around for the gift. When she found it, she tore open the envelope and found a note.

_ Hey Suki! _

_ I hope this isn’t too weird, but I captured a bunch of photos of you and Sokka throughout the summer to hang on his walls, and I thought you should have copies too. I miss you already, but I’m sure I’ll see you soon! _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Love, _

_ Katara _

Suki smiled at the note, but felt tears stream down her face at the last line. Katara must’ve put the gift together before Sokka told her, because it was clear she had no idea what had happened when she wrote the note. Suki wiped her tears away and picked up the stack of photos. Glancing at them, she decided to hang them up right away, so she headed over to her photo wall and grabbed some tape.

She hung up the pictures one by one, starting with the first time she saw Sokka the whole summer, Katara had snapped a picture of them hugging. Next was at the roller rink, Katara had caught them at the table, Sokka’s arm resting along the top of the booth behind her, a perfect candid shot of them laughing. Next was a photo of them on the beach during a free swim one day, they were swimming together with Katara and Zuko’s cabins, and Katara must’ve taken it from the dock. There was a picture of the four of them next- the head of camp had taken it one morning outside of the dining hall- she stood between Sokka and Zuko, and Katara stood on Zuko’s other side. There was one of them at the first color war, when Sokka had quite literally swept her off her feet, and one at the first dance, Katara had stolen a shot of them dancing. There was one of them in the dining hall during the second session, Sokka was sitting at his table and she stood behind him, her arms wrapped around him so her hands rested on his chest, his hands on top of her arms, talking to a camper. The next one was the one they posed for in their matching outfits. After that, there was one from their second night out, it was a photo of them posing under the neon light arcade entrance to the laser tag center the counselors had spent the night hanging out at. The last one was at the second dance, when they were watching the last year counselors were being recognized, and as she stared at it she felt herself desperately missing the feeling of his arms around her waist.

She took a step back to admire her work, and looking back on the summer in snapshots, and resisted the urge to cry. She missed him, she missed him like crazy. She’d made a mistake not even letting them try, but glancing across the room to where her phone rested on her bed she realized that maybe it wasn’t too late. 

She had to call Katara.

***

Two days later, it was just a few hours until sunset, and Sokka sat in his bedroom working on the last of his summer work. This was his usual post camp slump routine, come home, unpack, spend a few days with his parents before they went away on their annual vacation with their friends from college, then throw himself into his summer work while it was just him and Katara home for a while. Since he was going into senior year, he’d gotten the extra bonus of college applications to start, which he needed, because it kept his mind off of Suki. He had decided to take a break from college work that evening and was working on prep work for his english class when Katara appeared in his doorway. 

“You’re still doing summer work?” She asked, leaning against the frame. Sokka rolled his eyes.   
  
“Yes. What do you want?” He said, not even looking up. She had been acting weird all day, ever since she was all giggly with someone on the phone the other day.   
  
“Just wanted to warn you that Zuko will be here in about ten minutes.” She said, smiling. Sokka held back a groan. Zuko either came here or she went to Zuko’s every day since their parents left. 

“Sounds good.” He replied. She left his room, and sure enough about ten minutes later he heard them talking in the living room. He looked up from his work as he heard them, and his eyes wandered to his photo wall. He’d finally hung up the pictures from this summer last night, and as he looked over at them and heard his sister and Zuko laughing over something in the kitchen, he felt a wave of sadness crash over him. He liked having Zuko around, sure, and he was glad Katara was happy, but it still hurt a little. Oftentimes when Zuko was over he didn’t even bother to hang out with them because he knew he’d spend the whole time thinking about how he could have Suki over, and make it a group thing like they had done all summer.

The truth was, he’d made a mistake letting her slip away like that. After years of pining and messing up, he’d finally had her, and now he sat at his desk on a summer night, alone, wishing that she was here. He looked at his phone, somehow hoping that maybe thinking about her made her want to send him the ‘ _ i miss you _ ’ text he’d been hoping for but was too afraid to send all week, but alas all he got was a text from his friend about some party tomorrow. He looked back down at his work, willing himself not to cry over his mistakes of the summer he’d hopefully learn to leave behind soon. Listening down to Zuko and Katara once more, he turned his music up a few clicks to drown them- and his feelings- out.

About an hour passed, and Sokka had just wrapped up his work. The sun had just set, and as he turned his music down he heard Zuko and Katara being louder than before, which he found odd. They were never particularly loud that he’d noticed when they were here. He figured they’d had dinner without him, so he grabbed his phone and checked the notifications he missed while doing work as he went downstairs to grab something to eat. He made his way into the kitchen, which was connected to the living room, and a hush fell over the happy couple on the couch. He only looked up from his phone to see they had left a couple boxes of pizza on the counter, then looked back down as he fixed himself a glass of water. 

“Hey Sokka.” Katara said. Zuko cleared his throat and Sokka glanced up at them for just a second.

“Pardon my manners, hey Zuko.” Sokka said, smiling at his friend, before taking a sip of the water he’d just poured.   
  


“Hey Sokka!” Zuko replied extra brightly, which earned him a kick in the shins from Katara, for some reason. Sokka elected to ignore it, and looked back down at his phone as he leaned against the counter. He thought back on his quick glance across the room, and his eyes widened as he realized he’d missed something. He looked back up and nearly choked.

“Suki?!” He yelped. Barely setting the glass down on the counter before he dropped it. There she was, sitting on the couch in a tie dyed tank top, dark denim cutoffs and white high top converse. 

“Hey.” She replied, standing up and entering the kitchen. Sokka was rendered speechless, so he wordlessly opened the sliding glass door that led to the house’s back deck. Suki stepped out, and Sokka shut the door and looked across the room to Katara.

“How long has she been here? How long did you manage to hide my ex girlfriend in our house?” He demanded. Katara shot him a sour glance.

“She’s been here for about twenty minutes, and she wasn’t exactly hiding, she’s been sitting here with Zuko and I since she got here, waiting for you to emerge from your little workaholic cave.” Katara replied. Sokka crossed his arms in protest and she made a shooing motion with her hand. “Just go talk to her!”   
  
“I’m scared!” He protested.

“You two already broke up! She wouldn’t drive an hour on a Tuesday night to say anything bad if you two were already broken up! She would’ve said anything nasty over text!” Katara retorted. 

“I hate when you’re right.” Sokka said, sighing. Now Katara being extra giggly on the phone made more sense, she’d been plotting a surprise visit from Suki, which Sokka had been secretly hoping for.

“Sokka. Don’t leave her standing there!” Katara hissed.   
  
“Okay, okay!” Sokka said in mock surrender. “I’m going!”   
  
“Go get em Romeo!” Zuko cheered. Sokka shot him a glare, then opened the door and stepped out onto the deck and into the warm night air.    
  
“Sorry about that.” He said as he stepped out. Suki stood against the railing, with her arms hugging her stomach, just as they had that night after the dance.

“It’s fine.” She replied softly. A silence fell over them, and Sokka glanced around.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He asked finally, practically kicking himself over his word choice.  _ ‘What do you think she’s doing here?’ _ He asked himself.

“Fixing my mistake.” She replied instantly. “Sokka, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for breaking your heart, and I’m sorry for throwing everything we had away without even trying.” She started, choking up. “I understand if you don’t want to try again, but I had to at least give it a shot.” Sokka’s heart rate increased. She’d practically taken the words out of his mouth. On one hand, he could hardly believe this was even happening and expected to wake up from some cruel dream any minute now, but on the other nothing had ever felt more real in his life. 

“Suki I…” He started, looking at her and searching for the right words to describe how he felt. Her shoulders trembled lightly, and she looked unsure, afraid almost of what he would say next, and he wanted to pull her into his embrace and never let go. “God I missed you so much. I get it, I get why we broke things off but… I’ve almost picked up the phone and called every day this week.”   
  
“You could’ve saved me the drive!” She teased lightly. Sokka chuckled and took a step closer to her.

“Well I didn’t know you were coming! And… I wanted to see you again.” He replied softly. Their faces were just inches apart at this point.

“What are you saying here, Sokka?” She asked, looking up at him. “What do you want?”

“You.” He replied. Unable to resist for a second longer, he passionately grabbed her jaw and brought her lips to his. Her hands instantly were tangled up in his hair, and Sokka kissed her until he felt like he couldn’t breathe. “I want you, Suki. I don’t care about distance, or whatever, we can make it work. You know how I know?”

“How do you know?” She asked.

“Because I love you, Suki. I always have.” He replied. She smiled and kissed him again.

“I love you too.” She replied breathlessly, once they pulled apart. 

They stepped back inside a few moments later, and Suki went out to her car and came back with a bag of what Sokka assumed was her overnight things.

“You came packed?” He teased. Suki rolled her eyes.

“Katara’s idea.” She said. “She didn’t want me to drive all the way home alone alone at night if things went south.”

“Well I’m glad you came prepared.” Sokka joked. Suki laughed and they headed upstairs to his room. Suki set down her stuff immediately once they were inside, and Sokka quickly cleared up the schoolwork he had left sitting out earlier. Once he was finished he looked up at Suki, who was looking at his photo wall. 

“You have that picture from the diner last summer too?!” She asked, still looking at the wall. 

“Mhm.” He replied, walking over and sliding his hands around her waist. Her hands reached up and rested on top of his instantly.

“It’s a nice wall.” She said, turning to look at him.

“Katara’s doing.” He replied, shrugging. She giggled and reached up and kissed his cheek.

“Guess that’s why I’m all over it.” She teased.

“Hardly.” He scoffed, reaching down and kissing her neck. “You’d be all over it whether Katara made it or not.” She laughed once more, and Sokka felt butterflies in his stomach. Her laugh, her smile, the feeling of her hands on his, everything just felt perfect.

They decided to just hang out and watch a movie, and despite Zuko and Katara having run off somewhere leaving them alone in the house, decided just to stay in his room. Suki took her bag down the hall to get ready for bed and Sokka changed into his pajamas, not even bothering with a shirt in the late august heat. Suki came back a few moments later and he suppressed a laugh at the surprised look that flashed across her face as she entered the room.

“Is that my shirt?” He asked, glancing at her up and down once. She wore the same blue shirt he’d given her the morning they left.

“Well clearly, you don’t need it.” She retorted, crossing her arms. Sokka reached over and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him.

“I guess not.” He teased, sitting back on the bed. She sat right down in his lap and drew her lips to his, and the night melted away.

***

A few hours later, Suki woke up to find Sokka still asleep beside her. She looked out the window to find it was still pitch black outside, so she checked her phone to find that it was just after 4 am. She glanced over at Sokka, who was still fast asleep and smiled to herself as she traced his jawline lightly with her finger. It was really nice to have him back. She’d gotten into a habit of going to bed really late, which was probably why she had woken back up at his hour, but he clearly slept on just fine. 

She carefully slid out of bed, trying her best not to wake him up, and began to hunt around the room for her discarded clothes. She was half dressed and tugging her sports bra over her head when she heard Sokka yawn from the bed.

“Jesus Christ, you look like a trainwreck, Suki.” He said, glancing over at her. He had sat up and appeared to have been awake for a few minutes.

“Gee, I wonder who’s fault that is?” She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Sokka chuckled and her face flushed.   
  
“Well,” He said, glancing over towards the window. “Good… morning? What time is it, anyway?”

“About four.” Suki replied, sitting back down on the bed. Sokka reached over and kissed her.

“Well I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’ll be sleeping anytime soon.” He started, glancing around. “Want to get dressed and go for a drive? I know the best place to watch the sunrise, and we can get breakfast after?” He offered.

“Ooh, a real date!” Suki teased, smiling. “Sounds fun. I’ll go get ready.” Sokka smiled and she stood up, grabbed her things and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

She set her bag down on the counter and glanced in the mirror, and Sokka was right, she did look like a trainwreck. She fixed her hair, brushing it into her favorite half up half down style, and wiped off the remnants of yesterday's makeup, and quickly redoing it. Next was her outfit, which she hadn’t brought a ton of options for, so she settled on a yellow tube top and white jean shorts, and added her usual necklaces and bracelets and threw a scrunchie on her wrist, and with one last once over in the mirror she packed up and headed back to Sokka’s room.

“Hey.” He said as she re-entered the room. “You look nice.” 

“Thanks.” She replied, smiling. “A little less like a trainwreck?”   
  
“Definitely.” He said, smiling back at her.

“Is that my scrunchie?” She asked, glancing down at his wrist. His face flushed.   
  
“Yeah. You let me borrow it that day at the beach, remember?” He said sheepishly. “I kept it around as a reminder of you, I guess.” Suki’s heart swelled.   
  
“Sokka…” She said, reaching over to touch it gently. It sat on his wrist right next to the bracelets she’d made them. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, and she sighed into his embrace.

The sun wouldn’t rise for almost three hours, so they ended up driving around for a while, and about an hour in they started talking about their plans for the upcoming year. Sokka talked excitedly about college, but truth be told the idea of it made Suki nervous. It had always been her and her mom, and she was worried about leaving her behind.

“So where are you looking?” He asked her, glancing over at her and reaching over to rest his hand on her thigh, which made her brain go heywire.

“Oh um,” She started. “Things are looking good for field hockey at BSSU, but we’ll have to see where this season goes.”   
  
“Field hockey for Ba Sing Se University?!” He asked, his eyes going wide. “Suki- that’s insane! They’re one of the best athletic schools in the country! And they’re looking at you?”   
  
“Yeah!” Suki replied enthusiastically. She hadn’t told many people about it, but Ba Sing Se was a dream school of hers, and when she found out they were looking at her she’d nearly died on spot. “They started scouting my travel season last spring, and my coach told them to be on the lookout for my high school team.” 

“That’s incredible!” He said, glancing between her and the road. 

“How about you?” She asked.   
  
“Not sure, honestly.” he replied, shrugging. “I’d love to play baseball somewhere, but I’m not sure if I’m exactly BSSU material.”   
  
“Oh shut up!” Suki said, swatting his arm. “You’re a great player Sokka, and before you try and tell me otherwise I  _ have  _ seen you play, remember?” He sighed.   
  
“Thanks, Suki.” He said. “We’ll just see what last year’s scouts and the fall ball season bring I guess.”   
  
A silence fell over them, and they stayed that way for the next hour or so. Soon enough, it was almost sunrise, and Sokka parked the car at his mystery location, which turned out to be a local park.   
  
“Come on, the top of the hill over there is the best place in town to watch the sunrise or sunset.” He said, getting out of the car. She followed him out of the car and up to the top of the hill, and they took a seat on the grass. The sun had just begun to peak out over the hill when they sat down and Suki felt her phone vibrate.

**zuko**

_ 6:22 am _

_ z: dude where are you guys _

_ z: k and i just got home and she’s freaking out _

_ s: sokka and i took a drive, we’re at the park for sunrise _

_ z: sounds fun :) im guessing that means things are good? _

_ s: yeah, things are great :) _ _   
_ _ z: im glad _

_ z: i’ll tell k to stop freaking out _

_ s: you’re the best _

_ z: i know _

She giggled to herself at the last text and Sokka shut her a glance.   
  
“Who’s that?”He asked.

“Zuko.” She replied, shutting her phone off and shoving her phone into her back pocket. “He and Katara just got home and apparently she’s freaking out because we aren’t there.” Sokka laughed.   
  
“They disappeared for the whole night and she’s wondering where we are?” He asked. “Give me a break.”   
  
“I know right? And we’re the crazy ones.” Suki said, laughing. Sokka reached over and wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder, and they looked out to the skyline at the rising sun.

***

By eight o’clock the sun was well into the sky, and they decided to get breakfast at Sokka’s favorite twenty four hour diner in town. They got in and seated and ordered their food, and were waiting patiently when Sokka felt his phone vibrate.

**the little sis**

_ 8:14 am _

_ k: so… the sunrise, huh? _ _   
_ _ s: shut up _

_ k: i’m not making fun of you! _

_ k: seriously how is it tho _

_ s: incredible _

_ s: thanks for setting this up _

_ k: anytime bro _

_ s: so where did you two run off to last night? _

_ k: some party one of zuko’s friend was having _

_ s: how drunk are you? _

_ k: haha, very funny _

_ k: my head hurts _

_ s: there’s pain meds in the cabinet, go crazy _

_ k: you’re the worst _

“Zuko bothering you too?” Suki teased as Sokka set his phone down on the table. 

“No, Katara.” He replied. She giggled.

“Oh god, that’s worse.” She said. 

Their food came quickly after, and they talked on as they ate, but about nothing in particular. It was nice to be with each other outside of camp, on a regular date for once. Once they were finished Sokka paid for their breakfast and they walked around town for a bit, stopping to grab coffees for the drive home at a local coffee shop.

Once they were home they headed back to Sokka’s room, and put a movie on, not that they paid much attention to it. Sokka found himself playing with a lock of her auburn hair as they laid in bed, her head resting on his chest. She looked up at him at one point and he smiled, before leaning down to kiss her.

He wasn’t sure when, but at some point they had dozed off, and Sokka’s eyes fluttered open to see that it was much brighter than it had been that morning. He yawned and checked the time to find it was about three in the afternoon. He saw a notification come in for his friend’s party and he gasped. He’d been so busy with Suki he’d completely forgotten his plans for the night.

“Good morning.” Suki said sleepily, just waking up. He reached down and kissed her softly.   
  
“Not quite morning, but…” He teased. She rolled her eyes.

“How long were we out?” She asked, sitting up.   
  
“A few hours.” He replied.    
  
“Oh god. My sleep schedule is screwed.” Suki said, sighing. She glanced over at her phone. “Shit.” She muttered.   
  
“What’s up?” He asked, concerned.

“My mom’s flight comes in tonight, I’m supposed to pick her up at the airport.” She said, sighing. Sokka’s heart fell. He was hoping she’d be able to come with him to the party tonight, and stay for at least another day. They’d just made up, and he knew it was coming, but it still hurt that she was leaving so soon.   
  
“Damn.” He said, sighing. “I was going to ask if you wanted to stick around and go to my friend’s party tonight.”   
  
“Aw, Sokka.” She said, reaching over to kiss him. “I’m sorry.”   
  
“Don’t be. You’ve got to get home, I understand.” He replied. Their eyes met, and she reached over and tucked a stray hair away from his face before kissing him again.    
  
She went around the room gathering her things from the past day, and Sokka leaned back on the bed as she packed. Once she was ready they headed out to her car, and she tossed her bag on her passenger seat before turning back to face him.

“Hey, have fun tonight.” She said, smiling. Sokka cupped her cheek and drew her lips to his, kissing her hard. 

“Thanks, I will.” He said once they pulled apart. “Have a nice drive, text me when you make it home.”   
  
“Will do.” She said, smiling weakly. They both had come to hate goodbyes. “I’ll see you soon?”   
  
“Definitely.” He said, kissing her once more. She smiled as they pulled apart, then got into her car, and drove away. Sokka waved until her car was out of sight, and felt tears threaten his eyes. He didn’t let himself cry, because he knew it wasn’t permanent. They’d see each other soon enough, so it wasn’t goodbye, it was more like see you later. Sokka headed back into the house to waste the rest of the day away before the party.

That night he was at the party, sipping on a drink and looking up at the stars, the same stars he’d looked at by her side many times over the summer, when he felt his phone vibrate.

**suki <3**

_ 10:05 pm _

_ s: how’s the party? _

_ s: pretty good wish you were here tho _

_ s: aww come on, you can have fun without me _

_ s: i know, but that doesn’t mean i don’t miss you _

_ s: miss you too _

_ s: the sky looks beautiful tonight _

_ s: maybe i’ll have to take a look _

Sokka smiled to himself at the last text and took another sip of his drink.

**suki <3**

_ 10:07 pm _

_ s: you were right _

He chuckled and slid his phone back in to his pocket, and with one last glance at the sky he turned back towards the party, slightly more reassured by the idea that they were still looking at the same stars, even when they were apart.


End file.
